Overview

Across three days, the Brainbox Initiative will be hosting a comprehensive workshop on transcranial-focused ultrasound (TUS) techniques. The workshop brings together world-leading academic and technical experts in the field from the Verhagen Lab, Donders Institute and UCL Biomedical Ultrasound Group to provide attendees with a solid understanding of designing, setting up, carrying out, and analysing their own TUS studies.

Over the course of three days, we explore topics such as:
-TUS Overview/Introduction: Explore the fundamental principles and physiology of transcranial ultrasound neuromodulation. -Neurophysiology and Biomechanism: Gain insights into the intricate relationship between neurophysiology and biomechanics in the context of TUS techniques.
-TUS Safety: Understand the safety considerations associated with transcranial-focused ultrasound, covering both animal and human applications.
-Protocols & Effects: Examine different protocols for transcranial ultrasound stimulation and their effects on brain activity and neuromodulation.
-Confounds & Experimental Design: Learn about potential confounds in TUS studies and gain insights into experimental design strategies to mitigate them.
-Simulations and Planning / Water Tank Measurement / Transducers: Acquire practical knowledge on simulating and planning TUS experiments, including water tank measurements and an exploration of different transducers.
-Plasticity, State Dependency, Plasticity: Deepen your understanding of plasticity in the context of transcranial ultrasound stimulation, including state dependency and its potential for inducing plastic changes in the brain.
-Multimodal Design: Experience live, practical demonstrations of multimodal TUS in action, including the combination of transcranial ultrasound stimulation with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) setups and imaging methods.
-Transducer Coupling: Explore the coupling between different brain imaging and stimulation techniques and gain insights into their potential synergistic effects.
-Safety Screening: Gain an understanding of safety screening procedures and protocols to ensure the well-being of participants during TUS experiments.

Hands-on Sessions

-Transducer Coupling: Engage in hands-on activities to understand the principles and techniques involved in coupling various brain imaging and stimulation methods.
-Bring Your Own Experiment: Participants have the opportunity to bring their own TUS experiment ideas and receive guidance on experimental design, confound mitigation, stimulation protocols, safety considerations, and transducer design and technical aspects.
-Experimental Planning - Simulation: Learn how to effectively plan and simulate TUS experiments, optimizing parameters for optimal results while adhering to safety guidelines.
-TPO Control: Explore the principles of experimental control and learn how to implement TUS experiments with precise and accurate control.
-Navigation: Explore and get hands-on experience of running TUS sessions in combination with NIBS navigation.

Workshop Speakers

-Benjamin Kop, Donders Institute
-Sjoerd Meijer, Donders Institute
-Soha Farboud, Donders Institute
-Dr Elly Martin, University College London