서강대학교 전자공학과

Prof. Sua Bae Awarded 2025 Young Researcher Grant 

by the National Research Foundation of Korea

Dr. Sua Bae from the Department of Electronic Engineering at Sogang University has been selected for the 2025 Young Researcher Grant, awarded by the National Research Foundation of Korea under the Ministry of Science and ICT. Her project, titled "Development of an At-Home Transcranial Focused Ultrasound System for Repetitive Brain Disease Treatment," will span three years, from March 2025 to February 2028, with total funding of 680 million KRW.

As the population continues to age, the number of patients with chronic neurological disorders—such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease—and those with malignant brain tumors is steadily increasing. These conditions require long-term, repetitive treatments, which can place a significant time and financial burden on patients, particularly those with limited mobility. Elderly individuals or residents of remote areas often face difficulties accessing regular medical care, making consistent treatment challenging.

This research aims to introduce a new paradigm for brain disease treatment using focused ultrasound technology. By addressing the limitations of conventional MRI-guided focused ultrasound systems—which are often costly, time-intensive, and restricted to hospital settings—the project seeks to develop a patient-centered, at-home treatment device that significantly improves accessibility and efficiency. The team is targeting procedures that require frequent intervention, such as blood-brain barrier opening and enhancement of cerebrospinal fluid circulation, and is working on real-time monitoring technologies that account for individual skull acoustics and patient-specific physiological responses.

Key objectives include the development of sensing and monitoring systems capable of detecting brain responses in real time, as well as adaptive control algorithms that automatically configure safe and consistent treatment conditions. The project also aims to build a compact treatment platform suitable for use outside of clinical environments, along with an intuitive user interface that patients and caregivers can easily operate.

This multidisciplinary research combines expertise in medical devices, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. The at-home treatment approach is expected to enhance patients‘ quality of life, improve treatment adherence, and reduce overall healthcare costs.