Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) is a versatile, MR-guided, incisionless intervention with diagnostic and therapeutic applications for neurologic and psychiatric diseases. It is currently FDA-approved as a thermoablative treatment of essential tremor and Parkinson disease. However, other applications of FUS including BBB opening for diagnostic and therapeutic applications, sonodynamic therapy, histotripsy, and low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation are all in clinical trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis video article presents a case study of a 70-year-old male with medically refractory essential tremor treated with magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS). Following an initial successful ablation of the right thalamus, the patient underwent left-sided thalamotomy. After two tractography-guided sonications, the authors observed a significant reduction in his right-hand tremor with no immediate side effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders worldwide. In medically refractory ET, deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermediate nucleus of the thalamus is the current standard of care. However, DBS carries an inherent 2% to 3% risk of hemorrhage, a risk that can be much higher in patients with concomitant coagulopathy.
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