b'3300YYeeaarrssooffA maazziinnggAmAAddvvaanncceessAlan R. Segaloff Executive DirectorTechnology is an amazing thing, but it is also something we quickly learn to take for granted. Think about how quickly our society adapted to advances such as GPS navigation, smartphones, and mobile banking. It has been less than 20 years since these technologies came into common use, and now we barely remember things as they were before. When was the last time you used a paper map or a payphone? This is true in daily life, but its also true for innovations in medicine. Take for example the MRI. While it was approved for use by the FDA a decade earlier, only in the 1990s did it come into regular use for diagnosing MS, as insurance companies offered coverage. In just 30 years, this technology has become so established that most people with MS have them every 12-24 months to monitor their disease status, and many people with MS tell us they have learned to identify MS lesions on their own scans.In the same 30 years, weve gone from no treatment for MS to dozens of available options. Each treatment that is discovered sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of the disease, bringing us one step closer to understanding the cause of MS, and eventually, nding a cure. In this issue, we take a moment to appreciate the newer technologies that are advancing MS care. Drs. Thrower and Tarr update us on the current status of stem cell therapy for MS on page 12. DeWayne Durr, the rst patient to receive HSCT outside the trial at Cleveland Clinic, shares his personal experience with MS Focus on page 14. While many of us have eagerly followed the news about stem cell therapy and are now familiar with the concept, some new technologies still sound like science fiction. But we assure you, they are very real! On page 22, Deborah Backus talks about the use of robotics in MS, as well as 3D printing, and electrical stimulation. Leigh Charvet picks up where she leaves off, delving further into noninvasive brain stimulation techniques on page 46. In 30 years will these groundbreaking innovations be as much a part of the medical landscape as MRI is today? Only time will tell how far medical advances will take us when it comes to understanding, treating, and eventually preventing and curing multiple sclerosis. But if the rate of progress we see today continues, we will soon be nding better days for all affected by MS. msfocusmagazine.org 4'