Ultrasound-enabled precision delivery for Parkinson’s disease
Focused ultrasound to support localized, repeatable and biologically meaningful delivery of GDNF to Parkinson’s-relevant brain regions.
UNDERSTANDING PARKINSON’S
A progressive disease chain that disrupts dopamine signaling
Parkinson’s pathology can be understood as a cascade from protein aggregation to circuit-level motor dysfunction.
01
Alpha-synuclein aggregation
Misfolded protein accumulates and begins disrupting neuronal homeostasis.
02
Dopamine neuron dysfunction
Neurons lose functional resilience before widespread cell loss is apparent.
03
Substantia nigra degeneration
Progressive degeneration concentrates in Parkinson’s-relevant midbrain circuitry.
04
Dopamine deficit
Reduced dopamine availability weakens signaling across motor-control pathways.
05
Motor dysfunction
Circuit disruption manifests as movement symptoms and progressive functional decline.
OUR SOLUTION
Implantable acoustofluidics for targeted neuroprotection
Designed to deliver GDNF directly to the substantia nigra. Combining image-guided targeting, localized acoustic stimulation, active microfluidic delivery, and real-time dopamine sensing, the system aims to improve therapeutic distribution while limiting exposure to surrounding tissue.
01
Substantia nigra
targeting
Image-guided placement near Parkinson’s-relevant tissue.
02
Controlled GDNF
delivery
Active acoustofluidic pumping for localized distribution.
03
Real-time dopamine
sensing
Functional feedback for future adaptive treatment.
SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION
Peer-reviewed work supporting ultrasound-enabled precision delivery
Selected publications spanning brain vasculature navigation, precision therapy, autonomous microrobot control, and ultrasound-mediated delivery foundations.
1 — Direct brain / BBB-adjacent
2023, Nature Communications
Ultrasound trapping and navigation of microrobots in the mouse brain vasculature
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2 — Brain-drug-delivery foundation / review
2024, Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews
Ultrasound robotics for precision therapy
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3 — Enabling technology for brain vasculature navigation
2025, Nature Machine Intelligence
Model-based reinforcement learning for ultrasound-driven autonomous microrobots
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4 — Gene-delivery / sonoporation - chck
2011, Biosensors and Bioelectronics
Site-specific sonoporation of human melanoma cells at the cellular level using high lateral-resolution ultrasonic micro-transducer arrays
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5 — Gene / mRNA therapy -chck
2025, Nature
Ultrasound-driven programmable artificial muscles
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OUR TEAM
Collaborators advancing ultrasound-enabled delivery
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Prof. Claudio Pollo, MD
Professor and Deputy Chief Physician, Head of Functional Neurosurgery
Achievements
Deputy Chief of Neurosurgery at Inselspital and a leading expert in functional neurosurgery, specializing in Parkinson’s disease, tremor, chronic pain disorders, and Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). He has authored 100+ scientific publications and leads research on advanced DBS modeling and novel brain modulation technologies, supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Swiss Commission for Technology and Innovation (CTI).
Prof. Dr. Mauricio Reyes
Associate Professor at the University of Bern and Head of the Medical Image Analysis Group
Achievements
Globally recognized expert in medical artificial intelligence and medical image computing, whose research has transformed cancer imaging, orthopaedic implant design, and neuro-oncology. He pioneered AI-driven imaging technologies for lung cancer assessment, co-founded the Swiss health-tech company Crisalix, and led the development of the first FDA-approved AI technology for brain tumor patients.