ReviewNeuro-oncology advances2026
Development of skull-implanted ultrasound for blood-brain barrier opening and drug delivery in neuro-oncology.
Review in Neuro-oncology advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Focused ultrasound for brain metastases.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
- Applications of transcranial focused ultrasound for primary brain tumors.Neuro-oncology advances · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a significant challenge for the treatment of brain tumors as it limits the passage of most circulating drugs into the brain. Low-intensity ultrasound with microbubbles safely and transiently opens the BBB, improving drug delivery to the brain. Skull-implanted ultrasound devices are particularly effective as they allow ultrasound waves to bypass the skull. In addition, this technology has enabled sonication procedures to be performed without the need for real-time imaging guidance, neuronavigation, or MRI. Here, we review recent advancements in skull-implanted ultrasound for BBB opening and drug delivery in neuro-oncology. We highlight key preclinical and clinical studies demonstrating the safety of repeated BBB opening using skull-implanted ultrasound devices and discuss the expanding field with the activation of up to 9 implanted ultrasound emitters simultaneously. We also summarize pharmacokinetic studies supporting the efficacy of this strategy for enhanced drug delivery to the brain. In addition, we examine evidence on the temporal dynamics of BBB restoration post-sonication in brain tumor patients, emphasizing the importance of optimizing drug delivery timing. At last, we address current challenges and explore future directions for this promising therapeutic strategy.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.