Posted on | CategoriesCancer / Radiology & Imaging Sciences | PI: Allison H. Payne, PhD

Focused Ultrasound as a Non-invasive Treatment for Breast Cancer

As physicians discover breast cancers at earlier stages, many women seek therapies that are effective yet non-invasive and non-scarring. Allison Payne, PhD, and her colleagues have developed a magnetic resonance-guided, focused ultrasound system specifically designed for breast tumor therapy. Steered by the physician, this system delivers high-intensity ultrasound waves to a precise area inside the breast, where non-invasively destroy malignant tissues are non-invasively destroyed with heat. Continue reading → Focused Ultrasound as a Non-invasive Treatment for Breast Cancer

Research Statement

I am a mechanical engineer with expertise in thermal therapies; specifically magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound. My research contributes to the translation and dissemination of this exciting technology through the development of new hardware, advanced treatment planning and monitoring and assessment techniques. During the past 10 years, I have led the team that designed a constructed a breast-specific MRgFUS system that is currently in clinical trials in Europe for treating breast cancer. I have additional expertise in mechanical design, MR imaging, temperature measurement, acoustic radiation force imaging and acoustic modeling.

Focused Ultrasound Group