Project Further

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Improving pain palliation for cancer induced bone pain

The goals of the FURTHER project

Project FURTHER is a research project which aims to improve early pain alleviation for cancer patients with painful bone metastases. To achieve this, ten consortium partners have come together to bundle their power and knowledge to evaluate the role of MR-HIFU in the treatment of painful bone metastases.

The project has different work packages, each with a different task. The different work packages will provide information about the (cost-)effectivenes and efficacy of the treatment, the value of integrated pain management and the factors that will influence the implementation of MR-HIFU treatment in Europe.

Project FURTHER aims to evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of MR-HIFU as an alternative or additional treatment option to relieve metastatic bone pain in cancer patients.

What is MR-HIFU?

MR-HIFU (Magnetic Resonance Imaging-guided High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) is an early-stage, noninvasive, therapeutic technology with the potential to improve the quality of life and decrease the cost of care for patients with painful metastatic cancer to the bone. This novel technology focuses beams of ultrasound energy precisely and accurately on targets deep in the body without damaging surrounding normal tissue. Where the beams converge, focused ultrasound produces precise ablation (thermal destruction of tissue) of the pain-producing nerves around the cancer metastases without surgery, resulting in a significant reduction in pain.

MR-HIFU is approved as a safe treatment for patients with painful bone metastases. In this project, we will evaluate the role of MR-HIFU in the first line treatment of painful bone metastases.

More about MR-HIFU