Neal F. Kassell, MD, founder and chairman of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, received the inaugural Lifetime Impact Award at the 2026 annual meeting of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound (ISTU) in Norway in June. The award honors individuals whose work has fundamentally shaped the development, adoption, and global impact of focused ultrasound.
“Dr. Kassell’s visionary leadership and enduring contributions to the field have been truly transformative,” said ISTU President Elisa Konofagou, PhD, who is also the Robert and Margaret Hariri Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. “He has devoted the past two decades to transforming the lives of patients through ensuring continuous funding for focused ultrasound, championing innovation and collaboration, and accelerating the path from scientific discovery to patient care.”
A renowned neurosurgeon, Dr. Kassell established the Focused Ultrasound Foundation in 2006 to help raise awareness and accelerate adoption of focused ultrasound. Since then, both the body of research and the global community of scientists and clinicians have dramatically expanded, increasing the range of treatable conditions and bringing focused ultrasound closer to becoming a standard of care for countless patients worldwide. Globally, more than one million patients have been treated, and focused ultrasound is being researched to treat more than 180 diseases. In the past two decades, the Foundation has become the largest non-governmental funding source for focused ultrasound research. This November, as the organization celebrates its 20th anniversary, we will celebrate the milestone and the technology’s immense progress at an event in McLean, Virginia.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition, but I accept it on behalf of the entire Focused Ultrasound Foundation team and the many researchers, clinicians, industry partners, philanthropists, and patients who have worked tirelessly to advance this field,” said Dr. Kassell. “The progress we’ve made has always been a collective effort, and this award reflects what can be achieved when an entire community is united around a common mission.”
Read more here.