International Focused Ultrasound Society Debuts

May 20, 2026 — The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has announced the launch of the International Focused Ultrasound Society (IFUS), a new organization dedicated to advancing clinical practice and accelerating adoption of focused ultrasound — a noninvasive therapeutic technology.

Established as a program of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, IFUS aggregates and expands the Foundation’s activities related to clinical implementation and will leverage the Foundation’s established brand, infrastructure, and human and financial resources.

Core activities of IFUS will include:

• Education of clinicians, allied healthcare providers and the public around the use of focused ultrasound across indications

• Meetings and workshops

• Patient support and advocacy (public policy, regulatory and reimbursement)

• Coding, billing and insurance

• Clinical guidelines, best practices and standards of care

• Training, credentialing and certification

• Society and industry partnerships

• Public relations and communications

“Focused ultrasound has reached a tipping point in clinical adoption, and its role as a game-changing element in the therapeutic armamentarium is now being recognized,” said Neal F. Kassell, MD, founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. “IFUS will help bring this technology into mainstream medicine worldwide by formalizing the clinical, educational, and organizational framework needed for widespread adoption.”

Emergence of Focused Ultrasound

Focused ultrasound is a noninvasive technology that uses high-frequency sound waves, guided by real-time imaging, to treat tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation. It can exert its effect through multiple mechanisms of action, including destroying tissue, delivering drugs more safely and effectively, and enhancing cancer immunotherapy.

The technology has emerged as one of the most significant medical advances of the 21st century, with more than 1 million patients treated, over 180 indications in various stages of development, and 35 regulatory authorizations worldwide, including 12 by the US Food and Drug Administration. Focused ultrasound is now on a trajectory to treat more than 1 million patients per year.

Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and chair of the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto, will serve as inaugural IFUS board chair.

“As the use of focused ultrasound accelerates globally, IFUS will serve as its clinical home, advancing clinical applications, supporting implementation, and increasing awareness,” said Lipsman. “By connecting physicians across disciplines and regions, the organization will help define the standards, evidence base, and systems needed to make focused ultrasound more accessible to patients worldwide.”

The IFUS founding board members include leading clinicians and researchers representing a wide range of geographies and specialties:

• Jin Woo Chang, MD, PhD
  Korea University Anam Hospital

• Sébastien Crouzet, MD, PhD
  Hospices Civils de Lyon & Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

• Wladyslaw Gedroyc, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR
  Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

• Catherine Gilmore-Lawless, MBA
  Former Executive, Elekta and GE Healthcare

• Pejman Ghanouni, MD, PhD
  Stanford University School of Medicine

• Kullervo Hynynen, PhD
  Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

• Zhang Lian, MD
  Chongqing Haifu Hospital

• Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD
  Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

• Suzanne LeBlang, MD
  Focused Ultrasound Foundation

• Clare M. Tempany, MD
  Harvard Medical School & Brigham and Women’s Hospital

• Joan Vidal-Jove, MD, PhD
  Comprehensive Tumour Center, Barcelona

• Zhen Xu, PhD
  University of Michigan

IFUS is focused on clinical activities and will complement organizations such as the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU), which emphasizes basic research and technology development.

Membership will include clinicians, researchers, and trainees, and all individuals involved in focused ultrasound are encouraged to sign up to connect, exchange ideas, and promote and advance this life-changing technology. Founding membership is offered at no cost for the first year.

To learn more, see the IFUS frequently asked questions page.