Low-intensity Focused Ultrasound
Low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) is a promising non-invasive tool for targeting various brain regions including subcortical ones.
Optimizing LiFU Stimulation Parameters
This doctoral project, led by Ali Zadeh, aims to better understand how different low-intensity focused ultrasound (LiFU) stimulation parameters influence brain activity.
To achieve this, Ali combines mathematical modeling, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and electromyography (EMG) to evaluate how LiFU affects cortical excitability. A key focus of the project is assessing the spatial selectivity of LiFU, particularly when targeting the primary motor cortex.
Supervised by Oury Monchi and working closely with co-supervisor Samuel Pichardo (Associate Professor at the University of Calgary and VP of Scientific Operations at NovusTX Devices), Ali is contributing to the advancement of LiFU as a precise neuromodulation tool with promising clinical and research applications.
This project is funded by an innovation CFI to Dr. Bruce Pike and collaborators as well as an NSERC discovery grant to Oury Monchi.
Neuromodulatory Effects of LiFU on Pain Perception
This study explores how low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) targeting the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) or the sensory thalamus modulates pain perception. Healthy participants undergo three randomized sessions: stimulation of S1, thalamus, or a sham condition. Before and after each session, quantitative sensory testing (QST) is used to measure heat detection, pain, and tolerance thresholds.
The goal is to determine whether LIFU targeting different brain areas affects pain differently, and to lay the groundwork for using this non-invasive technique in clinical pain management.