Ultrasound technology shows promise for pain and depression treatment

Chronic pain and treatment-resistant depression — both impact millions of people, both can be debilitating and both can leave people feeling hopeless.

These ailments impact daily activities, relationships and jobs; now scientists are turning to sonic relief — a drug-free way to relieve the pain of both chronic pain and depression.

Anna Hansen loves to watch her seedlings grow, but chronic pain forced her to move her garden inside.

“I grow house plants since I couldn’t garden anymore as much,” Hansen said.

She has been suffering from endometriosis since she was just 15. Hansen spent years on opioids, but still, the pain persisted.

“These people, like with chronic pain or depression, they’re just caught in some sort of loop of brain activity that’s pathological,” said Tom Riis, a PhD biomedical engineer with the University of Utah.

Jan Kubankek said, “For the first time, we can treat or at least alleviate the symptoms of many of these people.”

University of Utah biomedical engineers have developed the Diadem device, which uses ultrasound to target areas deep inside the brain associated with chronic pain and depression.

After mapping the brain with an MRI, Diadem uses 252 beams of sound waves to target areas as small as a peanut.

“After 30 seconds of sonication, they’ll be able to … feel more relaxed, I feel, a little bit lighter,” said Riis.

In the chronic pain trial, 75% of participants experienced meaningful reduction immediately following treatment.

For depression, 58% were in remission after one session.

One patient remained in remission for over 44 days.

Hansen said she felt immediate relief and became pain-free within a week.

“I feel like I can do things because, at first, you’re very cautious. You don’t want to do anything that could trigger it to come back. It’s given me back myself and so it feels great,” she said.

Trials are still underway, but researchers believe this ultrasound device will not only help treat chronic pain and depression but also PTSD and addiction.