Today sees the launch of Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound in partnership with the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound adding to the growing number of society journals in the BioMed Central portfolio.

Therapeutic ultrasound (also known as focused ultrasound) has the potential to be an alternative or complement for radiation therapy, the means to dissolve blood clots, and a way to deliver drugs in extremely high concentrations to a precise point in the body. It has the potential to treat of a variety of serious medical disorders, including cancer, uterine fibroids, essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound encompasses all aspects of therapeutic ultrasound, namely, the stimulus, inhibition, or modification of tissue function or structure via insonification. The journal is led by Editors-in-Chief Arik Hananel and Robert Muratore who in their launch editorial discuss the history of the field and the rationale behind launching an open access journal in this field: “to accelerate the development of focused ultrasound and its adoption in the clinic.”

“Focused ultrasound technology has enormous potential to improve the quality of lives for millions around the world,” noted Neal F. Kassell, Chairman and Founder of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, “The research reported in the Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound will be central to advancing the field.”

The journal has also published two research articles today. In their article Zhang et al. explore the potential for microbubbles to improve cancer therapy by reducing the amount of time and acoustic power needed to destroy tumors using high intensity focused ultrasound. The study by Moser et al. describes the target accuracy of MR-guided focused ultrasound when used in functional neurosurgery.

The journal publishes research articles, reviews, case studies and study protocols. All Article-Processing Charges (APC) for the journal are currently covered by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.

To keep up-to-date with the journal sign up for article alerts. For more information, please visit the journal website or contact the Journal Editorial Office.

Shane Canning, Journal Development Editor, Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound