NCT06718140

tFUS for Memory in mNCD and Healthy Adults

Personalized Transcranial Focused Ultrasound for Mild Neurocognitive Disorder and Healthy Aging

• Status: Enrolling By Invitation
• Phase: Phase 1
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 25 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Medical University of South Carolina · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 50 Years – 85 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Dementia is an ongoing and growing public health crisis in the US and worldwide. The purpose of this study is to examine a form of noninvasive brain stimulation called transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) to the hippocampus with the goal of improving memory.

Detailed description

Dementia is an ongoing and growing public health crisis in the US and worldwide. Currently, there are an estimated 6.2 million Americans living with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) the most common form of dementia accounting for roughly 75% of cases. With a growing aging population, this number is estimated to be 13.8 million in the US and 152.8 million people worldwide by 2050 with a 14% lifetime prevalence. It is difficult to treat AD, making it critical to intervene as early as possible. Mild neurocognitive disorder (mNCD) is an early stage of memory and cognitive ability loss that is more severe than normal cognitive decline due to aging. Each year, approximately 15% of people with mNCD develop dementia, making it a critical juncture where intervention could be particularly impactful. Previous research has utilized a novel technique, called transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS), to change brain function and has measured changes to brain activity through electroencephalography (EEG) using scalp electrodes. This study will apply tFUS to the hippocampus to examine the effects on memory in healthy adults in mNCD.

Conditions

• Mild Neurocognitive Disorder
• Healthy Aging

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Transcranial Focused Ultrasound	Using MRI-guided targeting, we will administer focused ultrasound to one of the 4 brain locations

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-03-30
• Primary completion: 2026-12-01
• Completion: 2027-12-01
• First posted: 2024-12-05
• Last updated: 2025-11-24

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study