We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
GLOBETECH PUBLISHING LLC

Download Mobile App




Events

ATTENTION: Due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC, many events are being rescheduled for a later date, converted into virtual venues, or altogether cancelled. Please check with the event organizer or website prior to planning for any forthcoming event.

MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Procedure Offers Long-Term Relief for Patients with Essential Tremor

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 11 Nov 2022
Print article
Image: Jeff Elias, MD, has pioneered the use of focused ultrasound for essential tremor (Photo courtesy of UVA Health)
Image: Jeff Elias, MD, has pioneered the use of focused ultrasound for essential tremor (Photo courtesy of UVA Health)

A scalpel-free, high-tech form of brain surgery offers long-term relief for patients with essential tremor, a common movement disorder, a five-year review shows. The study offers important insights into the durability of the benefits of focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor.

The use of focused ultrasound procedure for essential tremor was pioneered by UVA Health (Charlottesville, VA, USA) and focuses sound waves inside the brain to disrupt faulty brain circuits that cause unwanted movement. Unlike traditional brain surgery, it does not require incisions or opening the skull. The minimally invasive procedure is guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), so doctors can pinpoint the exact right spot in the brain before delivering the treatment. Initial tests of the procedure at UVA and a small number of other sites often produced dramatic results: Study participants would enter an MRI with their hand shaking uncontrollably and emerge with their ability to write or feed themselves restored.

The pioneering clinical trials at UVA and a handful of other sites paved the way for the federal Food and Drug Administration to approve focused ultrasound for the treatment of essential tremor in 2016. That made the procedure available to patients outside clinical trials, though there are still a limited number of hospitals with the advanced technology and expertise needed to offer it. The FDA also has approved focused ultrasound for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease tremor and dyskinesia (involuntary movements) based on research at UVA Health and elsewhere.

While promising, those early tests could not reveal how long the benefits of the procedure would last. This new study followed the clinical trial participants for five years and found that they continued to enjoy major reduction of more than 70% in their tremors. Other measures of quality of life were improved as well. Side effects did not occur after the procedure was complete. The study described the outcomes of 40 trial participants from the original study cohort. It represents the largest long-term follow-up study of the procedure, known as “unilateral thalamotomy,” possible to conduct so far.

UVA is now investigating the technology’s potential for a wide variety of other medical applications, from treating cancer to opening the brain’s protective barrier to deliver now-impossible treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Based on its highly promising research, UVA launched the world’s first focused ultrasound cancer immunotherapy center earlier this year. The center aims to combine focused ultrasound with immunotherapy to enhance the immune system’s ability to battle cancers.

“It is exciting to see such durable results after an outpatient procedure for a sometimes disabling problem like ET,” said researcher Jeff Elias, MD, a UVA Health neurosurgeon who served as the study’s Principle Investigator. “It is important to note that most of the patients had very long-lasting benefits, but there are some cases where tremor can recur.”

“This important trial verifies the long-term benefits and safety of the focused ultrasound procedure that we have performed for hundreds of patients with tremor at UVA,” said Shayan Moosa, MD, a UVA Health neurosurgeon partnering with Elias to perform focused ultrasound procedures. “As this is an incision-less and outpatient treatment, we are able to effectively reduce tremor in patients who may not be able to or may not want to pursue more-invasive options."

Related Links:
UVA Health 

Gold Supplier
Portable X-Ray System
FDR Xair
New
Full-Body Fan-Beam System
Primus DXA
New
X-Ray Film Illuminator
Vista Series 3-Bank
New
Ceiling Suspension Tubestand
Lem Plus iC

Print article
Sun Nuclear -    Mirion
FIME - Informa

Channels

Radiography

view channel
Image: BiOI ruby-like crystals can improve medical imaging safety by lowering intensities of harmful X-rays (Photo courtesy of University of Cambridge)

Sustainable Solar Cell Material Could Revolutionize Medical Imaging

The use of X-rays for internal body imaging has dramatically changed non-invasive medical diagnostics. Yet, the high dose of X-rays required for these imaging techniques, due to the poor performance of... Read more

MRI

view channel
Image: An international, multi-institutional project aims to develop a radically new MRI scanner that is compact and transportable (Photo courtesy of U of M Medical School)

Compact and Portable MRI Scanner to Expand Existing Imaging Capabilities and Accessibility

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology which provides detailed images of the human brain is instrumental in understanding brain functions and diagnosing medical conditions. MRI has become indispensable... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: New imaging method offers potential for diagnosing, staging, and treating multiple types of cancer (Photo courtesy of SNMMI)

New Imaging Method Superior for Diagnosing Multiple Types of Cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts play a significant role in tumor development, migration, and progression. A subset of these fibroblasts expresses fibroblast activation protein (FAP), a protein prominently... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more

Industry News

view channel
Image: The global AI-enabled medical imaging solutions market is expected to reach USD 18.36 billion in 2032 (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

Global AI-Enabled Medical Imaging Solutions Market Driven by Need for Early Disease Detection

The AI-enabled medical imaging solutions market is currently in its developmental stages, following the significant role of AI-based tools in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic saw an upswing... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.