BME research: Ultrasound does not activate but can inhibit in vivo mammalian nerves

Hubert Lim
The goal of Hubert Lim’s lab — the SONIC (Sensory Optimization and Neural Implant Coding) Lab — is to push the development and translation of neural interfaces and medical technologies from scientific concept into clinical application with close collaboration with clinicians and industry. They use approaches such as electrical stimulation, ultrasound imaging and stimulation, EEG, and invasive neural recordings, with a focus on hearing loss, tinnitus, inflammation disorders, and pain applications.

March 17, 2022 — Research led by Professor Hubert Lim and recently published in Scientific Reports showed that ultrasound can reliably inhibit nerve activity. 

The findings open up new opportunities for using targeted ultrasound to modulate nerve activity as a complementary tool to electrical stimulation technologies for a broad range of health conditions, including pain, inflammation, and movement disorders.

The study also found that ultrasound cannot readily excite mammalian peripheral nerves in an in vivo preparation, contrary to previously published studies. This is true even at high pressures (relative to levels recommended in the FDA guidance for diagnostic ultrasound) and for a wide range of parameters, including different pulse patterns and center frequencies. 

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