'Pocket Science' podcast: What if sound could heal?
You might know ultrasound from its use as an imaging device by obstetricians. But researchers are also investigating its potential as a powerful tool to treat diseases and disorders from depression to Parkinson's disease to cancer. Wynn Legon explains how his lab is exploring this technology's effectiveness against chronic pain.
Sound has been harnessed for uses from medical imaging to sonar. Now, scientists are exploring how ultrasound can be used to treat conditions as varied as addiction and depression and brain cancer. Wynn Legon explains the evolution of focused ultrasound and how his lab is contributing to the growing list of ways the technology can benefit our health.
"We can theoretically focus that energy to a small spot … anywhere in the brain, so it now gives us noninvasive, nonsurgical access to the whole brain. So that’s quite a step," Legon said. "It’s taken about 10 years for people to kind of jump on board and accept that, 'Oh yeah, this does work.' Now let’s figure out why, and what can we use it for."
More about Wynn Legon
Legon is assistant professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke. His lab studies the use of low-intensity focused ultrasound, an emerging form of noninvasive neuromodulation that uses mechanical energy to affect neuronal activity. The technology combines high spatial resolution with deep focal lengths providing unprecedented noninvasive access to the human brain. The enormous potential of low-intensity focused ultrasound stems from the ability to focus it through the intact skull to a millimeter-sized focal spot virtually anywhere in the brain. This makes it a powerful alternative to both invasive neurosurgical procedures and other noninvasive brain stimulation techniques.
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About "Pocket Science"
"Pocket Science" is a compact guide to the human body and how it works, powered by the world-class scientists of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. We ask fundamental questions about the human body, health, and disease, and get answers from research institute experts, who also tell us how their research illuminates these systems and how to better treat the diseases that affect them.
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