fus Forward

After a long hibernation, Keith and Charles awake to find k-Wave creator and legendary acoustic simulation scientist Brad Treeby. Brad tells the gang a tale of courage, leaving a life held dear to reinvent how a full-head arrays couple through the hair, and what it’s like to sit inside one. Join your fussiest friends to hear all about the launch of Neuroharmonics hair rockets, the origins of k-Wave, Midjourneys ultrasound CT, academia-industry clash, and why no one reads the k-wave manual.

On the tailwinds of major commercial success across tech sectors, Phoenix Peng has set his sights on focused ultrasound as a new kind of BCI. Join the gang in this whole heart episode as they discuss the origins and plans for Gestala, a convergence of AI and the brain, and a vision for global research partnerships.

This month we're joined by Zhihai Qiu, principle investigator at the Guandong Institute of Science and Technology. While many know him as the first scientist to genetically encode ultrasound sensitivity into the mammalian brain, we know him as a compassionate researcher and friend of the community; driven by curiosity and deep collaboration. Listen in as we follow his journey as a physicist turned geneticist turned neuroscientist, a life across continents, and what he believes to be a bright future for us all.

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(20)31018-4

This week, Keith and Charles catch up with an old friend, founder of the International Transcranial Ultrasound Safety and Standards Consortium, Associate Professor at Radboud University, and just possibly an avid FUS Forward listener (??), Lennart Verhagen. Since hosting the very first ultrasound neuromodulation conference in Oxford in 2019, Lennart has been fighting to build a community and stable science one brick at a time. Follow our journey through fear, memory, and fantastic futures as we stare deep into the looking glass.

With limited supply and massive demand for opportunity in neurotech, it's not always clear how to fit in. This week we're joined by neurotechnology investor, community builder, and managing partner at Dragonfly 44 Capital, Michael Brotherton. Michaels taken the long road in, from bench-side scientist, to Michelin star chef (not Michelin), and we guarantee this episode will inspire. Join us this week to hear about a range of topics from psychedelics regulation to new biomarkers and community building with a lot of life lessons along the way.

This week, the team welcomes Dr. Mirian Klein-Flügge to discuss her latest work stimulating the amygdala and modifying emotional perception of faces. From molecular mapping MRI, to E/I balance, this episode has alot to showcase on experimental design and the massive potential of brief ultrasound stimuli.

Check out the new paper here!

https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(26)00172-8

In a field moving this fast, it's important to remember that everything we take for granted was someone's lifetime of dedication. In our journey to collect their untold stories we catch up with one of the fields heroes, Jean-Francois Aubry, the Director of Research at the French National Center for Scientific Research, the Scientific Director of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation Center of Excellence at Physics for Medicine Paris, and co-founder of SonoMind. This episode is a wealth of historical context for acoustic array and lens design, through-skull transmit-receive, first steps in safely modulating the brain, scientific mentorship, and a forward looking sentiment for the mass treatment of depression. It is an absolute must listen for all those in the space.

Everyone in ultrasound neuromodulation has heard the story; a young man who came and went like the wind, leaving shock, awe, and promise of a great new technology. A resurgence born out of bumping speakers and majestic minis. 18 years later, the gang finds Jamie Tyler locked in a bank safe, surrounded by a glowing galaxy lighting the walls, eager to hear about where he's been and, more importantly, where he's headed next.

The skull cap gang has assembled for this riveting episode with Taylor Webb and Sam Clinard from the University of Utah. We talk about their development of a new MR hydrophone method, biomarkers for estimating dose, and the legacy of MR skull acoustic properties.

This week, the gang is joined by Dr. Amy Kruse, Chief Investment Officer of Satori Neuro, where she reveals her philosophy around neurotechnology investing and how aspiring scientists can best position themselves for the bright future ahead.

This week, the gang heads out west with Pengfei Song, Associate Professor at Duke University. They get into functional ultrasound brain imaging, the implications of vascular microbubbles, shear wave neuromodulation possibilities, and next generation brain computer interfaces.

Follow the FUS busters on their epic journey to untangle the origins of the double pulse repetition frequency. Be warned, you may not like what you find!

This week we join Dr. Samuel Pichardo to discuss pushing acoustic simulations to the limit with plans for BabelBrain 1.0, how essential tremor is n his crosshairs, and how electrical fields can steer the focus of a single element transducer.

Lived experience and mental health advocate Jon Nelson brings the reality of mental health front and center, from deep brain stimulation to an even deeper stigmatization.

Not the first, and definitely not the last time the gang discusses the growing prevalence of self experimentation as FUS gets wind in its sails. Listen in on thoughts around barrier to entry, a viral twitter post, chasing ghosts, and vagus nerve modulation.

This week Elly Martin, Associate Professor of University College London, joins the squad to talk about cryogenic ultrasonic unfreezing of living tissue, UCL's brain wide hemispheric interface, and the art of metrology.

Noah Philip, Professor at Brown University joins the pack to discuss what's been going on inside one of the most secretive efforts in focused ultrasound neuromodulation. This episode covers new findings his work with amygdala stimulation in PTSD, the honors of working with veterans, how old stim habits die hard, and some hot takes on wellness devices gone clinical.

This week Raag Airan joins the crew to change the way we think about ultrasound interactions with the brain. Follow along as we chat about using ultrasound to locally release drugs, clearing metabolites and particulates for stroke and dementia, and how he thinks about tradeoffs between exploration and scientific rigor. Check out Raags latest (FUS) win below

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-025-02866-8

Charles and Keith discuss the recent serious adverse event and what it means for the field

Join the gang as they catch up with fus Forward friend and expert Elsa Fouragnan to explore precision hacking of reward system through nucleus accumbens stimulation and all the practical and ethical implications in between.