A new state-of-the-art high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) machine, the JC200 manufactured by Haifu Technology Ltd, has been installed at the Churchill Hospital, giving Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) patients access to the latest in this innovative technology. The JC200 device (Haifu Technology Ltd.) newly installed at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, with patient on device, photographed with patient consent. An earlier version of this device has been used for clinical indications such as uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, as well as for previous research trials of cancers involving the kidney, liver and pancreas. This new machine allows the OUH team to continue to expand the clinical programme in treatment of non-cancerous tumours including uterine fibroids in addition to developing research programmes potentially involving cancers of the liver, pancreas, breast and the musculoskeletal system including sarcoma. The new JC200, CE-marked for tumour therapy, was gifted to OUH by the Chinese manufacture, Haifu Technology Ltd., and replaces a similar but older HIFU machine of the same name, which had been installed in 2010 and was used to gain CE-marking for the device but was reaching end of life. Charitable donations including funds from the Focused Ultrasound Foundation have helped cover the installation and maintenance costs of the new device. Dr Rustam Rea (OUH Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Director of Clinical Improvement) officially opened the new unit on 30th January 2026 with the clinical HIFU team. Prof David Cranston, Emeritus Clinical Director of HIFU, said: “This technology holds enormous promise for greater clinical expansion, as well as further research. Studies in fibroid patients have shown that outcomes with HIFU are similar to surgery with faster recovery and fewer adverse effects.” Dr Paul Lyon, OUH Consultant Radiologist and Clinical Director of the Oxford HIFU service, said: “This upgrade is fantastic news for our patients. The improved technology in the latest JC200 device means treatments can be quicker and smoother for the patients. It’s a major upgrade in terms of both diagnostic and therapeutic performance. In addition to enabling expansion of the existing clinical service it also offers great potential for cutting-edge oncology clinical research.”
When Martina and Claudio found out their twins were in jeopardy, they turned to focused ultrasound, which was performed in utero to treat twin-twin transfusion syndrome.
Paul Lyon, FRCR, DPhil, MRes, MSc, BSc, PGDip is the associate clinical director of the high-intensity focused ultrasound unit at the Oxford University Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust and co-director of the Focused Ultrasound Centre of Excellence at the University of Oxford. He has more than a decade of clinical and preclinical research experience in therapeutic ultrasound and its applications. He delivered the first clinical trial to demonstrate safety and efficacy of the use of focused ultrasound to facilitate targeted drug delivery to solid tumours (TARDOX Study, Lancet Oncology). Dr. Lyon is also a consultant radiologist who performs minimally invasive and noninvasive image-guided tumour ablation procedures such as microwave, cryoablation, and therapeutic ultrasound for cancer patients at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford. He is leading the UK’s first National Thermal Ablation Registry (TARGET-UK) and the SarcAblate study exploring the use of focused ultrasound to treat soft tissue sarcoma and desmoid tumours. Learn more about Dr. Lyon’s work and how he is advancing the field of focused ultrasound. When and how did you become interested in focused ultrasound? I came to Oxford in 2016 to lead a first-in-man study of focused ultrasound–mediated drug delivery, as part of a clinical DPhil programme with close links to the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford. As this time, I also became involved with the clinical high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) service in Oxford treating patients with uterine fibroids. What are your areas of interest in focused ultrasound? My major research area is in the treatment of cancer patients with locally directed therapies, and I continue to work on developing clinical trials that apply focused ultrasound for treating oncology patients. I am interested in developing a better understanding of how focused ultrasound may promote beneficial changes in the immune system and if it can be used in combination with systemic therapies for patient benefit. What mechanisms and clinical indications do you study? I research a range of focused ultrasound regimes for cancer patients, which may be from higher powered regimes, including HIFU thermal ablation, lower powered and non-thermal modalities – including cavitation and hyperthermia – for drug delivery, and emerging histotripsy. This complements my role within NHS as a radiology consultant performing microwave ablation for lung and liver cancers and cryotherapy for kidney cancers. What is the goal of your work?My ultimate goal is to continue world-class research in focused ultrasound for the long-term benefit of cancer patients with unmet need. This very special group of patients deserves the best treatments. What are your funding sources? My research is currently funded by Sarcoma UK and the UK Focused Ultrasound Foundation. Research Details Who are your internal collaborators?I work with a variety of clinical and non-clinical researchers forming a highly multidisciplinary team, including, but in no way limited to, Prof. Feng Wu, Prof. David Cranston, Prof. Constantin Coussios, Prof. Michael Gray, Mr. Srikanth Reddy, Mr. Keaton Jones, Prof. Mark Middleton, Prof. Rachel Kerr, and Prof. Fergus Gleeson. Who are your external collaborators? Amongst several other external collaborators, I work with Prof. Tze Min Wah at Leeds Institute of Medical Research at St James’s as a close collaborator both in the world of thermal ablation and focused ultrasound clinical trial development. What are your greatest achievements?Other than convincing my wonderful wife Caroline to marry me, one of my greatest achievements was publishing a very full clinical DPhil with Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, whilst juggling a newborn baby and a new role as academic clinical fellow in Radiology in Oxford. What do you see as impediments to your success? I am involved in several different focused ultrasound–related projects, so working full time for the NHS and having only one day of dedicated academic time is limiting with regards to all the input I would like to give. This said, it is a wonderful privilege to work at the forefront of this exciting clinical research including collaborative trial design and delivery, and supervision of talented DPhil students. Has the Focused Ultrasound Foundation played a role in your work? The Foundation has played a key role in my work and has generously funded me for one day of academic work per week up to now. In addition, the Foundation has funded part of the work for my first DPhil student (Dr. Megan Bradbury), involving spatial transcriptomics of post-HIFU treated tumours, which was integral to her DPhil and will soon be presented and published. Tell us about a significant moment in your research.As clinical research fellow, it was a real privilege to deliver the TARDOX trial with supervision and input from several eminent professors in Oxford. I recall looking down a microscope at small colorectal tumour samples treated with focused ultrasound hyperthermia in the presence of circulating ThermoDox®, and the excitement of seeing unmixed high fluorescence signal which was highly specific for the drug (doxorubicin). This showed for the first time clinically, that we had been able to release drug to a liver tumour in a highly targeted manner, completely noninvasively. What comes next? As I transition to becoming the HIFU Clinical Director in Oxford, I hope to expand the team to enable us to offer a robust routine NHS HIFU service for gynecology indications. In terms of future academic progression, I hope to be at the forefront of the exciting scientific progress in pushing forward oncological indications for focused ultrasound. I would like to continue my exciting journey by developing oncological trials in focused ultrasound-targeted drug delivery, using the technology in combination with immunotherapies and potentially expand into histotripsy. Past coverage The Focused Ultrasound Foundation Designates the University of Oxford as a Center of Excellence October 2025 Oxford Named Focused Ultrasound Centre of Excellence | NHS Oxford University Hospitals October 2025 University of Oxford Named Focused Ultrasound Centre of Excellence | Institute of Biomedical Engineering at Oxford October 2025 Focused Ultrasound for Sarcomas: New Review Now Available September 2025 Clinical Trial Results: Focused Ultrasound Helps Chemotherapy Reach Liver Tumors July 2018 Key Focused Ultrasound Publications Chetan M, et al., Lyon P, High-intensity Focused Ultrasound treatment of unresectable soft tissue sarcoma and desmoid tumours – a systematic ...
Charlottesville, VA, 9/5/25—The Focused Ultrasound Foundation has designated Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark as a Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence. Aarhus becomes the first Center of Excellence in Scandinavia and the 15th worldwide, joining a global network of leading institutions advancing the development and adoption of focused ultrasound technology. Left to Right: Neurosurgeon and PhD Andreas Nørgaard Glud; Professoral Chair, Dept. of Neurosurgery Jens Christian Hedemann Sørensen; Neuroscientist and postdoc Rikke Hahn Kofoed. Photo credits: Tonny Foghmar The Foundation’s Centers of Excellence Program was established in 2009 to recognize and support institutions that are leading the field in research, development, and clinical adoption of focused ultrasound. This designation recognizes Aarhus University Hospital’s multidisciplinary expertise and commitment to advancing focused ultrasound research, clinical care, and education. The Center will serve as a hub for collaboration, uniting expertise in neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, radiology, psychiatry, and engineering. “The work being done at Aarhus University Hospital demonstrates the extraordinary potential of focused ultrasound—from improving treatments for movement disorders to pioneering new approaches for Parkinson’s and dementia,” said Neal F. Kassell, MD, Founder and Chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. “Aarhus University Hospital is significantly expanding access to focused ultrasound in Scandinavia and accelerating the global effort to make focused ultrasound a standard of care.” Focused ultrasound was first introduced at Aarhus in 2022 as a treatment for essential tremor, making it the first public hospital in Scandinavia to offer the noninvasive therapy. By 2024, more than 170 patients had been treated. Beginning in fall 2025, the hospital will offer bilateral treatment for essential tremor and initiate a clinical study for tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease. In 2023, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital established a preclinical focused ultrasound platform that now supports multiple projects with capacity to treat more than 60 animals per week. Current preclinical research focuses on modulation of Parkinson’s-related dementia, supported among others by the Foundation, the Carlsberg Foundation, and EU Horizon. Over the next two years, the program will expand to include neuromodulation (e.g., transcranial ultrasound stimulation) and focused ultrasound gene therapy. “We are honoured and delighted with the designation as a Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence,” says Jens Christian Hedemann Sørensen, Professorial Chair, Dept. of Neurosurgery and Danish Neuroscience Centre. “Focused ultrasound treatment is a giant leap in our efforts to improve the quality of life of the most severely affected patients with essential tremor and holds great potential for other indications. At Aarhus University Hospital and Danish Neuroscience Centre, we are looking forward to expanding our collaboration with other leading clinics and research centers for the benefit of patients with movement disorders.” Future studies at Aarhus will also explore blood-brain barrier opening for targeted drug delivery and neurostimulation, with the potential to transform treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, brain tumors, and psychiatric disorders. An upcoming 2025 study in tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease will integrate biomarkers, liquid biopsy, advanced imaging, and neuropsychological evaluations to optimize patient selection and long-term outcomes. Aarhus University Hospital has been recognized as Denmark’s best hospital 15 times by Dagens Medicin and was ranked No. 12 on Newsweek’s “World’s Best Smart Hospitals” list in 2024, placing it second in Europe. The hospital is also a leader in integrating advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence, robotic surgery, telemedicine, digital health applications, and precision imaging. Its state-of-the-art facilities, including high-resolution human and animal PET and MRI, support both preclinical and clinical research, with a cross-disciplinary team dedicated to patient care, training, and innovation. About Focused UltrasoundFocused ultrasound uses ultrasound energy guided by real-time imaging to treat tissue deep in the body without incisions or radiation. It is FDA-approved in the United States to treat essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, liver tumors, uterine fibroids, pain from bone metastases, osteoid osteoma, and the prostate. Dozens of additional indications are approved outside of the US. The technology is in various stages of research and development for more than 180 diseases. About the Focused Ultrasound FoundationBased in Charlottesville, VA, the Focused Ultrasound Foundation was created to improve the lives of millions of people worldwide by accelerating the development of focused ultrasound, a rapidly evolving, noninvasive technology. The Foundation works to clear the path to global adoption in the shortest time possible by organizing and funding research, fostering collaboration, and building awareness among patients and professionals. Since its establishment in 2006, the Foundation has become the largest nongovernmental funding source for focused ultrasound research. About Aarhus University HospitalAarhus University Hospital is one of the largest and most specialized hospitals in Denmark, providing advanced care and conducting world-class research across a wide range of medical disciplines. The hospital collaborates closely with Aarhus University and other institutions to integrate research, innovation, and education into patient care.
