Focused Ultrasound.
A podcast conversation with Dr. Neal Kassell.
Two of the subjects we find most interesting and important are the extraordinary advances occurring in technology and the sciences. One such advance, that bridges the two, is called “focused ultrasound.”
What is focused ultrasound?
Like a magnifying glass focusing beams of light on a single point, focused ultrasound concentrates ultrasound energy on a target in the body without harming healthy surrounding tissue.
What can focused ultrasound treat?
Focused ultrasound is being researched for over 180 diseases worldwide. While most are in the early stages, commercial treatment is now available in the US for essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, osteoid osteoma, pain from bone metastases, liver tumors, uterine fibroids, chronic low back pain, and the prostate. Globally, nearly 40 diseases have earned regulatory approval.
Dr. Neal Kassell is the founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and former Co-Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of Virginia. He’s the driving force behind focused ultrasound. For the most up-to-date information about focused ultrasound, here’s a link to “The State of the Field 2025” report.
I talked with Neal at some length two weeks ago. The science is remarkable. The technology is developed (and developing). One story he tells about a woman with essential tremor is astonishing.
The podcast is below. You’ll be amazed.
(A conversation with Dr. Neal Kassell, founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. 6 November 2025)