The FUS initiative supports researchers on campus, and shares expertise with the TUS community worldwide.
To overcome the challenges associated with the implementation of focused ultrasound, the university invested in an inter-faculty initiative which accelerates focused ultrasound innovation, bolsters research, and lays the foundation for its clinical application.
Engineering support
Our engineers support researchers and research centres with transducer characterization, equipment maintenance, equipment quality assurance, software development and other technical needs. Moreover, we collaborate with industry partners to further develop technology for research purposes, intended to also aid future clinical application.
Acoustic scanning setup
Our 3D positioning system and hydrophone scanning tank allows us to characterize the output of our transcranial ultrasound transducers. We can make full 3D profiles of the acoustic field, or quicker axial scans. The setup is portable, allowing us to take it to any FUS laboratory on campus without moving valuable stimulation equipment.
In addition, our radiation force balance allows for a quick assessment of the output produced by the transducers. To submit an internal request for transducer output characterization, please fill out the form. We kindly ask external parties to contact fus [at] ru.nl (fus[at]ru[dot]nl) for more information.
We are currently working on a procedure for equipment monitoring for quality assurance and a deployment procedure. The first version of these procedures will be shared here shortly. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please contact us at fus [at] ru.nl (fus[at]ru[dot]nl).
Software
We developed a TUS calculator, in collaboration with Kim Butts Pauly at Stanford university, which is currently being tested by the community. This calculator can be used to estimate derived quantities like ultrasound intensity and mechanical index, which have consequences for both safety and efficacy of ultrasound protocols. The fundamental frequency, pressure and temporal regime of the intended protocol must be provided as inputs. Derived estimates are provided both as free-water values and derated values which account for attenuation due to the skull.
We are optimizing our software for acoustic field scanning (acquisition) and for postprocessing of the data. The results will be open source, and freely available to the community. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please contact us at fus [at] ru.nl (fus[at]ru[dot]nl).
Sharing knowledge
We are finalizing our Standard Operating Procedure for all non-invasive brain stimulation within the Donders Centre for Cognition and Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging. Once finalized, we will share the document here.
We are wrapping up the editing process of recorded basic, advanced and expert lectures on TUS, including a lab-demo. Links to the video’s will be provided soon. This is made possible thanks to the generous help of NeuroTech EU.
Radboud FUS measurement kit
The Radboud FUS measurement kit is an open-source, licensed toolkit designed for building and utilizing an acoustic scanning setup for transcranial ultrasound (TUS) transducers. It includes all necessary components to verify, characterize, and monitor the performance of your TUS transducers. The kit features a quick and easy reproducible probe setup, and supports automated subsequent protocol scanning for single axial profile reference checks, as well as transverse planes for holography and full volume scanning.