£6.5m project aims to revolutionise mental health treatment using ultrasound

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£6.5m project aims to revolutionise mental health treatment using ultrasound

The University is working with NHS and industry partners to test a device using ultrasound to improve mood and reduce depression

£6.5m project aims to revolutionise mental health treatment using ultrasound

The University is working with NHS and industry partners to test a device using ultrasound to improve mood and reduce depression

Mr Alan Williams

Media and Communications Manager

Corporate Communications (Marketing and Communications)

21 January 2025

The ��ñ�� is playing a key role in a £6.5million study that will test whether a device that uses ultrasound technology to stimulate the brain can help improve people��ñ��ޙs mood and reduce depression.

The project ��ñ��ޓ led by the ��ñ��ޓ will test the efficiency of the Forest 1 device, developed by Los Angeles-based company .

Unlike current technologies such as deep brain stimulation, which can only target a single area of the brain, this new technology can interact with the whole brain with pinpoint accuracy.

The small device is placed on the surface of the skin of the head and can measure patients��ñ��ޙ brain activity and stimulate different parts of it, all using ultrasound.

By doing this, the team hopes to leverage Forest 1��ñ��ޙs unique capabilities to measure and modulate neural activity across different mood states, enabling the development of a predictive model of affective brain states.

The ultimate vision is for Forest 1 to become a transformative neurotechnology for a range of therapeutic applications.

Aimun Jamjoom, Consultant Neurosurgeon and study lead, said:

��ñ��ޜThe opportunity to work on this study is hugely exciting as it has potential to make a real difference in improving the lives of people with mental health issues. We��ñ��ޙll be researching the safety of the device, and looking to see if we can improve symptoms of depression. It holds the promise of delivering a life-changing therapy for people with depression and anxiety who don��ñ��ޙt respond to medication.��ñ��ޝ

At the ��ñ��, Professor Elsa Fouragnan will be helping with experimental design related to mood regulation, appropriate ultrasound and neuroimaging protocols, which parts of the brain to target, and clinical outcomes.

It builds on her team��ñ��ޙs pioneering research, carried out in the University��ñ��ޙs Brain Research & Imaging Centre (BRIC), into the potential applications and benefits of interfacing with the brain with ultrasound.

This is an incredibly exciting project, and we will be working with technologies that could transform the lives of people with mental health and other neurological conditions.

In recent decades, we have come to learn much more about the parts of the brain responsible for controlling everything from moods to movements, which is enabling us to develop more targeted and effective therapies. The use of precision neurotechnology is a significant part of that, and means we can deliver longer-lasting benefits without some of the side-effects caused by current medications which impact the whole brain.

Professor Elsa Fouragnan
Professor in Neuroscience

The three-and-a-half year project is being as part of its mission to support world-leading neurotechnology research, aiming to develop personalised treatments for a wide range of brain disorders.

Backed by £69 million over four years, ARIA is funding 18 research teams to pioneer new, high-precision methods for interfacing with the human brain.

The hope is to recruit around 30 patients to take part in the study and, as sound waves do not travel well through bone, the patients would have previously had a craniectomy ��ñ��ޓ where a portion of skull has been removed to relieve pressure in the brain ��ñ��ޓ for a traumatic brain injury or stroke.

Before any work is undertaken with people, a rigorous regulatory process will begin in March and it��ñ��ޙs hoped the recruitment of patients will begin by the end of the year.