2011
A field emerges
Foundational functional ultrasound work demonstrates brain activity mapping through sensitive blood-flow imaging.
Macé et al. · Nature MethodsFUNCTIONAL ULTRASOUND. SHARED KNOWLEDGE
OpenfUS brings the Urban Lab’s experience
to the functional ultrasound community.
THE INITIATIVE
URBAN LAB · VIB–KU LEUVEN · BELGIUMOpenfUS is the Urban Lab’s latest contribution to the functional ultrasound community.
A practical resource initiative connecting the steps that shape an experiment: preparation and surgery, platform construction, acquisition, analysis, visualization and interpretation.
By bringing methods and experience into one place, we aim to help researchers build on each other’s work, understand their signals and make their workflows easier to reproduce.
Meet the Urban LabA COLLECTIVE SCIENTIFIC JOURNEY
Functional ultrasound follows the brain’s hemodynamic response. From 2D maps to volumetric imaging, each advance opens another way to study brain function.
2011
Foundational functional ultrasound work demonstrates brain activity mapping through sensitive blood-flow imaging.
Macé et al. · Nature Methods2015
Urban and colleagues bring functional ultrasound to freely moving rats, connecting imaging with behavior.
Urban et al. · Nature Methods2020
Brain-wide volumetric fUS in awake mice extends the view from individual planes to three-dimensional activity.
Brunner et al. · Neuron2025
Connecting fUS blood-flow signals with neuronal firing, through work with Carandini and colleagues.
Núñez-Elizalde et al. · Neuron2026 — 2030
Open resources, larger-animal research and the pursuit of human applications shape the next questions.
A forward-looking research visionFROM SETUP TO INSIGHT
ONE CONNECTED WORKFLOWBetter questions need practical tools.
Explore the methods, people and resources
behind functional ultrasound.
Build the platform around the scientific question. Explore probes, ultrasound systems and the engineering behind an imaging setup.
Imaging technology at Urban LabExplore PyfUS and OfUSA, software resources for functional ultrasound analysis. Connect practical methods with reusable code, from acquisition data to visualization and interpretation.
Published whole-brain fUS protocol codeKeep preparation, acquisition, stimulation and analysis together. Start with the published protocol for brain-wide fUS in awake mice.
Read the whole-brain fUS protocolBring a question, an idea or a collaboration. Share practical experience and help shape useful resources for the community.
Contact Dr. Alan URBANTWO COMPLEMENTARY VIEWS
All lab publicationsMap hemodynamic changes associated with neural activity. From a 2D plane to a 3D volume, explore how brain regions respond and interact over time.
Explore our researchUltrasound localization microscopy tracks individual microbubbles to reconstruct the microvascular network beyond the conventional ultrasound resolution limit.
Read the foundational ULM paperKEEP THE CONVERSATION OPEN
Working on functional ultrasound?
Let’s connect methods, ideas and people.