BONE HIFU

BONE Research Group

BoneHIFU team of TUCH has been part of the FURTHER study project, which is a multicenter consortium consisting of eight partners in four European countries (the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, and Germany) and funded by the European Commission. In the randomized controlled trial external beam radiotherapy and HIFU treatments are being compared as pain palliation induced by bone metastases. The trial ended at the end of year 2025 and the results are currently being analyzed.

Oncologists:

Dr. Mira Huhtala, MD, PhD, Radiation oncologist

  • Department of Oncology, Turku University Hospital
  • mira [dot] m [dot] huhtala [at] varha [dot] fi

Radiologists:

Prof. Roberto Blanco Sequeiros, MD, PhD

  • Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku
  • reberto [dot] blanco [at] varha [dot] fi

Dr. Heikki Pärssinen, MD, PhD candidate

  • Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku
  • heikki [dot] parssinen [at] varha [dot] fi

Medical Physicists:

Dr. Teija Sainio, M.Sc., PhD

  • Department of Medical Physics, Turku University Hospital and University of Turku
  • teija [dot] sainio[at] varha [dot] fi

Research Coordinators:

Dr. Ekaterina Saukko, PhD

  • Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Turku University Hospital
  • ekaterina [dot] saukko [at] varha [dot] fi

Full Publication List:

Hovenier R, Slotman DJ, Gasperini C, Zamagni A, Huhtala M, Braat MNGJA, Eppinga WSC, Kasperts N, Phernambucq ECJ, Boomsma MF, Nijholt IM, Blanco Sequeiros R, Bazzocchi A, Morganti AG, Moonen CTW, Bos C, Verkooijen HM, on Behalf of the FURTHER Consortium. Eligibility for Magnetic Resonance-Guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound in Patients Referred for Radiotherapy on Painful Nonspinal Bone Metastases. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2025 July 3; 4962457, 11 pages, doi:org/10.1155/ijcp/4962457

Galietta E, Donati CM, Bazzocchi A, Sassi R, Zamfir AA, Hovenier R, Bos C, Hendriks N, Boomsma MF, Huhtala M, Blanco Sequeiros R, Grüll H, Ferdinandus S, Verkooijen HM, Morganti AG. Impact of Pain Education on Pain Relief in Oncological Patients: A Narrative Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Cancers (Basel). 2025 May 16;17(10):1683. doi: 10.3390/cancers17101683.PMID: 40427180

Simões Corrêa Galendi J, Siefen AC, Moretti DM, Yeo SY, Grüll H, Bratke G, Morganti AG, Bazzocchi A, Gasperini C, De Felice F, Blanco Sequeiros R, Huhtala M, Nijholt IM, Boomsma MF, Bos C, Verkooijen HM, Müller D, Stock S: Factors Influencing the Adoption of Magnetic Resonance-Guided High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound for Painful Bone Metastases in Europe, A Group Concept Mapping Study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Jan 7;20(2):1084. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20021084.

Slotman DJ, Bartels MMTJ, Ferrer CJ, Bos C, Bartels LW, Boomsma MF, Phernambucq ECJ, Nijholt IM, Morganti AG, Siepe G, Buwenge M, Grüll H, Bratke G, Yeo SY, Blanco Sequeiros R, Minn H, Huhtala M, Napoli A, De Felice F, Catalano C, Bazzocchi A, Gasperini C, Campanacci L, Simões Corrêa Galendi J, Müller D, Braat MNGJA, Moonen C, Verkooijen HM; FURTHER consortium. Focused Ultrasound and RadioTHERapy for non-invasive palliative pain treatment in patients with bone metastasis: a study protocol for the three armed randomized controlled FURTHER trial. Trials. 2022 Dec 29;23(1):1061. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06942-1.