Focused ultrasound (FUS) mediated drug delivery is an emerging and unique technique to deliver drugs and/or agents across biological barriers through the mechanical effects from ultrasound. This technique offers several advantages over traditional drug delivery methods, including increased targeting precision, reduced systemic side effects, and improved therapeutic efficacy. At SUN Lab, we aim to combine region-specific FUS with acoustically responsive nanoparticles to achieve both spatial and physiological targeting for drug delivery.

The treatment efficacy for brain disorders has been hindered by the presence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Approaches that can interfere with the microenvironment locally for enhanced immune effector delivery and reprograming are desperately needed. FUS represents a promising physical technique to address these challenges due to its unique spatial targeting, ability of reversible vascular permeation, non-invasiveness, deep penetration and high controllability. SUN Lab uses multi-scale models and tools to unveil how immune cells (both endogenous and engineered cells) respond to ultrasound as mechanical stimuli, particularly in the complex immune microenvironments of brain tumors and aging brains.

SUN Lab also focuses on employing advanced computational techniques, including machine learning and parallelism, to enhance the field of cavitation imaging and control. The primary objective is to refine the in-clinic capability for real-time beamforming of cavitation maps, thereby elevating the effectiveness of FUS therapeutic interventions. This initiative also explores the integration of closed-loop systems for monitoring cavitation dosage autonomously, eliminating the need for manual interpretation. An exemplar system is designed to regulate acoustic pressures to favor stable cavitation over inertial cavitation, which can lead to undesired bubble expansion and elevated tissue temperatures.