Centers of Excellence
In 2009, the US-based Focused Ultrasound Foundation established the Centers of Excellence program to recognize research centers for their exceptional contributions. This program evaluates the extent of clinical research applied to patients, as well as training and patient care. There are now five Centers of Excellence throughout Europe and the UK and thirteen worldwide.
The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden | London, England
In September 2013, the Foundation and Philips entered an innovative public-private collaboration with the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and The Royal Marsden National Health Service Foundation Trust to create a Center of Excellence in London. The Center created a state-of-the-art resource for clinicians and scientists working on focused ultrasound therapy, developing clinical evidence in oncology, and establishing best practices, treatment standards, and protocols.
INSERM – LabTAU | Lyon, France
In February 2017, INSERM Unit 1032, the Laboratory of Therapeutic Applications of Ultrasound (LabTAU) at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM) was named a Focused Ultrasound Center of Excellence. LabTAU conducts significant translational and clinical research with a multidisciplinary, highly qualified, and complementary team of physicians and scientists. The Center has special expertise in commercializing technology and creating strategic interfaces between engineering and medicine.
Physics for Medicine Paris | Paris, France
In December 2019, Physics for Medicine Paris became the third Center of Excellence in Europe. The site focuses on accelerating the development of ultrasound-based technologies and translating these innovative technologies to the clinic, with an emphasis on cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Physics for Medicine Paris is a technological hub for new modalities of ultrasound guidance, monitoring, and treatment. The team also plays a pivotal role in educating young researchers with the training of many PhD students.
University Medical Center Utrecht | Utrecht, Netherlands
In January 2021, The University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) became the fourth Center of Excellence in Europe. UMC Utrecht is striving to improve current cancer therapy with MRI-guided focused ultrasound, often in combination with other modalities, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, leading to higher efficacy, fewer side effects, and lower costs. The emphasis of the clinical translation, in close collaboration with other nearby medical centers and international consortia, is on breast cancer, bone cancer, immune stimulation, and drug delivery for brain tumor treatment.
University of Oxford | Oxford, United Kingdom
In October 2023, the University of Oxford became Europe’s fifth Center of Excellence and eleventh worldwide. Focused ultrasound research has been a hallmark of the Oxford multidisciplinary ecosystem since 2004. In clinical research, the site is exploring focused ultrasound for ablation of pancreatic tumors and soft tissue sarcomas. Beyond ablation, the team is investigating focused ultrasound as a tool for drug delivery, using thermal mechanisms for mild hyperthermia—triggered drug delivery from thermosensitive liposomes and cavitational mechanisms. The Center of Excellence draws on the expertise of over 23 principal investigators devoted to focused ultrasound research and work in collaboration with industrial partners and other Centers of Excellence around the world to expand the range of novel ultrasound therapies for the benefit of patients.
Aarhus University Hospital | Aarhus, Denmark
In September 2025, Aarhus became the first Center of Excellence in Scandinavia and the 15th worldwide. 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. In 2023, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital established a preclinical focused ultrasound platform that now supports multiple projects. Current preclinical research focuses on modulation of Parkinson’s-related dementia, and the program will expand to include neuromodulation and focused ultrasound gene therapy. 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.
See a full list of the Centers of Excellence on the US-based Foundation’s site.