Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Stimulation
Does anyone know where I could find a device for tFUS along with some good resources on how to use it? I've read that it can stimulate areas much deeper in the brain and has better spatial resolution than tMS, tDCS, or tACS. I do have some safety concerns about tFUS though. One ultrasound can be dangerous and can destroy tissue if used improperly, and two ultrasound disrupts the blood-brain barrier. Any and all information about tFUS and safety would be greatly appreciated.
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I have done a lot of research on tDCS but I have never seen this tFUS. Are you sure about your sources? or how is supposed to work? Any papiers ? There are same good tDCS products you can look into, I can help there. I have no sponsor or kick backs , no worry.
> I have done a lot of research on tDCS but I have never seen this tFUS. Are you sure about your sources? or how is supposed to work? Any papiers ? There are same good tDCS products you can look into, I can help there. I have no sponsor or kick backs , no worry.
I've read a couple of different hypotheses on the mechanism of action it's a subject of debate right now. It is an emerging technology that is supposed to be able to stimulate areas deeper in the brain than tDCS or TMS. It's also supposed to have better spatial resolution. This video (
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2019.00549/full
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8507972/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28320-1
This website sells TUS devices along with TMS devices, but this kind of stuff is out of my price range.
https://brainbox-neuro.com/techniques/tus
It is funny, I previously had the opportunity to work with TUS. It was a lab-built device though. We found some marginally significant improvements in mood for our stimulation target.
> It is funny, I previously had the opportunity to work with TUS. It was a lab-built device though. We found some marginally significant improvements in mood for our stimulation target.
Which areas of the brain did you stimulate and what were the specs on the device if you don't mind me asking? Do you know what the price tag was on the device?
I wasn't involved in building the device or the publication, so I can not say anything about the price tag. But some of the results are published here:
I have to correct my previous statement, though. After looking at it again, I noticed we found a marginally significant increase in SAM arousal and not SAM valence.
We stimulated at the electrode position F8 with the following parameters:
Frequency: 0.5 MHz
Power: 199mW/cm²
Pulse Repetition Frequency 40Hz
Duty Cycle: 0.5%
Mechanical Index: 1.53
Stimulation-Length: 120s
Here's one example of an US intervention:
https://www.fusfoundation.org/diseases-and-conditions/alzheimers-disease/#:~:text=Focused ultrasound in combination with,cognition in Alzheimer's disease models.
A quick search will yield you tons of results showing studies where US was used to treat rather then diagnose. I remember also reading something about the role of purring in cats being related to maintenance of bone density despite being sedentary for like 90% of the time. Supposedly, the frequency of purring is analogous to the device that people use to vibrate casts and increase the speed of healing. I'm not sure what the finding were.. I'll have to look into it.
Another reason why I'd love to see people in the Biohack.me community explore US is that it's non-invasive. I've seen those youtubes where people are doing DIY X-ray photography of flowers and whatnot. Dude.. it's just not a diy yourself application. Have you ever heard of the Therac-25? A programming error ended up burning 6 people to a crisp.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25
But US? There is no overdosing someone on ultrasound. We aren't going to harm anyone. It's considered non-invasive and as far as I know people can ask for an US without the order of a physician. Like an MRI. There are limitations. I can read X-rays pretty well having spent a decade in the ER. It's not difficult. The radiologists get paid to spot the fine point.. weird fuzzy regions and such that end up indicating pulmonary congestion or constipation or whatnot. Anyone would be able to look at an X-ray and assess the integrity of some big implant. Ultrasounds aren't so simple to read. All my experiences have been related to placement of line like IVs. Sure, I can spot the dif between a vein and artery but ultrasounds can be confusing. It' would certainly be a project but I'd love to see more come of this.
I've had my eye on a few hack-a-day projects such as: https://hackaday.com/2019/04/18/simple-ultrasound-machine-shows-the-skeleton-lurking-inside-us-all/
I don't think it's developed enough to do anything for us. But, I mean.. even if people just made an US driver so we could do intervention projects? Nootropics and US to open the BBB anyone? Post exercise US treatments and journaling of results? Please someone take on this project?