Ultrasound can be used to treat a variety of brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. However, getting ultrasonic waves into the brain is a challenge. Our thick skulls are in the way.

Most sound waves are reflected or absorbed before reaching the brain, due to the barrier posed by the relatively dense, 2-8 millimeter thick cranium.

The solution may lie in a ceramic cranial implant devised by academic researchers from the U.S. and Mexico. A version of the ceramic skull implant developed by a University of California-Riverside-led team of researchers. Image credit: David Baillot, University of California-San Diego Jacobs School of EngineeringThe transparent implant is designed to replace part of the skull to permit delivery of therapeutic sound waves into the brain. The non-porous device, composed of a new variation of the ceramic material Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ), allows for the transmission of non-focalized, low-intensity ultrasound.

The researchers previously developed a YSZ cranial implant material for laser-based therapies, which is already in preclinical trials. The current material could be used to deliver both ultrasound and laser-based treatments.

“These materials are already being used in dental crowns and hip replacements, and our team is working to extend their application to the diagnosis and treatment of a wide variety of brain pathologies and neurological disorders,” said Guillermo Aguilar, professor and chair of mechanical engineering at the University of California-Riverside Bourns College of Engineering.

Researchers from the University of California-San Diego and Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (CINVESTAV) del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) in México City, Mexico, also participated in this project.