The Focused Ultrasound Foundation will expand into animal health in 2018 when the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine studies the use of high-intensity ultrasound to treat naturally occurring sarcomas and mast cell tumors in dogs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope to use focused ultrasound to non-invasively destroy tumors and to disrupt tumor cell membranes and stimulate a dog\u2019s own immune system to fight the cancer,\u201d said the study\u2019s director, assistant professor Jeffrey Ruth, DVM, MS, DABVP, DACVR. \u201cBecause many types of tumors that affect people also occur naturally in dogs, focused ultrasound could not only augment the traditional approach to cancer in dogs but also advance our understanding of human cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Charlottesville, Virginia, organization describes focused ultrasound as an \u201cearly-stage, non-invasive therapeutic technology that could transform the treatment of many medical disorders by serving as an alternative to surgery and radiation.\u201d The foundation since 2006 has researched the use of focused ultrasound in human medicine.<\/p>\n
\u201cTraditionally, animals have served as models in comparative studies before innovative therapies can be explored in human trials,\u201d said foundation chairman Neal F. Kassell, M.D. \u201cThis trial allows us to apply the experience obtained using focused ultrasound in humans to treating dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The foundation is planning other veterinary studies of focused ultrasound in areas such as wound healing, non-invasive spaying and denervation for pain from hip dysplasia.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal \u2026 is to create a win-win scenario for all involved,\u201d said Kelsie Timbie, Ph.D., the foundation\u2019s veterinary program director. \u201cVeterinarians will have new, innovative therapies to offer clients, and insights gained in dogs and cats will help inform clinical trial design in humans.\u201d<\/p>\n