Professor Uses Ultrasound to Treat Alzheimer s

Ultrasound, a reverberating pitch too high for the human ear to recognize, has many applications. It can relax the muscles of aching athletes, melt the fat of liposuction patients and remove grime from kitchen utensils. One of its best-known functions is creating images of fetuses in the womb. Professor Elisa Konofagou, pictured with her work on myocardial elastography, is now leading her team in discovering ultrasound's full potential in fighting disease. Over the last decade, one Columbia professor has been a leader in unleashing ultrasound's full potential in fighting disease. Biomedical engineer Elisa Konofagou and her team are using the technology to burn away breast cancer cells, assess the health of a heart, determine the size of an aneurysm and measure the amount of plaque buildup inside an artery. Now, Konofagou is on the brink of uncovering a new, potentially groundbreaking use for ultrasound: the ability to temporarily open up the natural barrier that separates blood vessels from brain tissue in mice.