US-based medtech firm GE HealthCare has announced a collaboration with Danish multinational pharma company Novo Nordisk to further advance the clinical and product development of peripheral focused ultrasound (PFUS). This is a novel technology that has potential to specifically regulate metabolic function in the body using ultrasound that may support the treatment of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.

PFUS is a non-invasive type of bioelectronic medicine that uses ultrasound to activate the nervous system to stimulate a response that may be able to treat disease. Pre-clinical proof of concept and initial early-stage clinical research suggests that it may impact glucose metabolism in people with diabetes via personalised ultrasound stimulation of nerve pathways. If validated with further clinical evidence, PFUS could represent a non-pharmacologic approach to normalize blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

The existing technology was developed by a team of scientists at GE HealthCare’s HealthCare Technology and Innovation Center, formerly part of the GE Research Center.

As part of the collaboration, GE HealthCare and Novo Nordisk will contribute their respective expertise in ultrasound medical technology and metabolic disease treatment and management as both parties work together to develop a PFUS solution to improve patient care, building upon the extensive foundational research done to date by the GE HealthCare team.