FROM INVASIVE TO NON-INVASIVE: FOCUSED ULTRASOUND NEUROMODULATION OF THE SPINAL CORD

High blood pressure is a leading risk contributor to cardiac disease and death, with nearly 120 million US adults affected. The current treatment options are limited, with the most common being pharmacologic agents. These treatments come with many side effects, such as dizziness, headache, and constipation. In more severe cases, chest pain, breathing problems, and irregular heartbeat can occur. Previous studies have proposed an alternative method using focused ultrasound (FUS) to neuromodulate blood pressure. We investigated low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) as an alternative therapy and noninvasive means of altering blood pressure. It was found that LIFU, when applied to the lower thoracic region, leads to a decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP), the average pressure in an artery during one cardiac cycle. While this study and past studies have shown this can be done invasively, we also found evidence that this can also be done non-invasively by optimizing parameters. The use of FUS to modulate blood pressure can create a novel non-pharmacological therapy for patients. This can ultimately be applied to a variety of blood pressure disorders, like chronic hypertension and autonomic dysreflexia from spinal cord injury.