September 24, 2020
More specific, fewer invasive and fewer painful medical procedures with lessen hazard of troubles and no radiation exposure – these are some of the rewards of managing pediatric tumors with Magnetic Resonance Guided Significant Depth Centered Ultrasound (MR-HIFU). And now the Centered Ultrasound Foundation has specified Children’s National Healthcare facility as the initial world wide pediatric Heart of Excellence (COE) for applying this technology to help individuals with unique types of childhood tumors.
“This designation delivers a superior amount of recognition and legitimacy to the get the job done our Children’s National team has accomplished with MR-HIFU more than several decades,” says Karun Sharma, M.D., Ph.D, director of Interventional Radiology and affiliate director of scientific translation at the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation (SZI) at Children’s National. “This will allow for our targeted ultrasound program to grow to other parts of fascination and come to be additional cohesive while continuing to uncover added scientific indications for pediatric individuals.”
At Children’s National, radiologists use MR-HIFU to aim an ultrasound beam into lesions, typically tumors of the bone and tender tissues, to heat and ruin the tissue in that area. There are no incisions at all. In 2015, Children’s National medical practitioners turned the initial in the U.S. to use MR-HIFU to take care of pediatric osteioid osteoma, a painful, but benign, bone tumor that normally occurs in children and younger grownups. The trial, led by Dr. Sharma, shown early success in setting up the safety and feasibility of noninvasive MR-HIFU in children as an option to the latest, additional invasive strategies to take care of these tumors. The team also carried out a different scientific trial, led by AeRang Kim, M.D., Ph.D, a pediatric oncologist, to take care of relapsed tender tissue tumors this sort of as sarcomas.
Because then, the Children’s National team has developed an lively scientific trials program and come to be a chief in translation of targeted ultrasound for the cure of pediatric solid tumors. The heart is currently investigating the cure of malignant solid tumors with targeted ultrasound by itself and mixed with chemotherapy.
“Focused ultrasound delivers a variety of vital rewards more than traditional therapies, which are specially paramount for the pediatric populace,” explained Centered Ultrasound Foundation Chairman Neal F. Kassell, M.D. “The team at Children’s National has an exemplary track report in applying this technology to pioneer new cure options for their individuals, and we appear ahead to collaborating and supporting their foreseeable future investigate.”
As a specified COE, Children’s National has the important infrastructure to aid the ongoing use of this technology, specially for carrying out foreseeable future pediatric scientific trials. This infrastructure includes an ethics committee acquainted with targeted ultrasound, a robust scientific trials investigate aid team, a details evaluate committee for ongoing safety checking and yearly safety opinions, and a scientific evaluate committee for protocol analysis.
The program also capabilities a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and investigators from SZI, radiology, oncology, medical procedures and orthopedics. With the new designation and ongoing enlargement, we will grow MR-HIFU to other parts this sort of as neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, and urology. Ongoing and foreseeable future get the job done will investigate a rational combination of MR-HIFU with local tumor drug delivery, immunotherapy and mobile remedy.
“This recognition sets us apart as a premier pediatric establishment, and will allow for us to pave the way to make pediatric medical procedures additional specific and fewer invasive,” says Dr. Sharma.
Media speak to: Gabrielle Little | 860-818-2345