Shanghai Trial Breakthrough in Brain Cancer

Fudan University and the neurosurgery department of Huashan Hospital have announced promising results from a new device called “UltraBrainPad.” This device can safely open the blood-brain barrier, which normally protects the brain but also blocks medicine from reaching brain tumors. In early tests on patients with glioblastoma, a very aggressive type of brain cancer, the device allowed cancer drugs to reach the tumor more effectively. These results suggest that UltraBrainPad could make treatments for brain cancer much more powerful and improve patients’ chances of recovery.

For the first time in China, an ultrasound device called UltraBrainPad has successfully helped patients. It can check and treat the brain at the same time, giving new hope to people with tough brain cancers like glioblastoma.

The team said their ultrasound technology could treat not only glioblastoma but also Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders. It works by safely opening the brain barrier and may help control or connect the brain in new ways, offering hope for future treatments.

Glioblastoma is very hard to treat because the brain’s blood-brain barrier blocks most medicine. The team tested their ultrasound device in labs and animals and found it can open the barrier in just three minutes, letting medicine reach the tumor eight times better. The barrier closes on its own after six hours, and the method is safe and works better than similar treatments elsewhere, says Shi Zhifeng from Huashan Hospital.

Shi Zhifeng said the device uses ultrasound with a small handheld probe. It shows the brain on the UltraBrainPad screen, so doctors can pick spots to treat. The device opens the blood-brain barrier in those areas, and AI helps make it safe by showing how much it opens.

Next, the researchers will start a clinical study to treat patients whose glioblastoma has returned. They are also exploring ultrasound brain-machine interfaces, which could lead to new treatments for Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders by helping control and connect the brain in new ways.