MR guided focused ultrasound as a treatment tool for essential and Parkinsonian tremor

Combining focused ultrasound (FUS) with real time MRI guidance and monitoring enables a new non-invasive treatment of brain disorders. In this technique multisource ultrasound waves are focused at a single point raising the temperature gradually until ablation occurs. Lesions as small as 2-4 mm can be made, without impact on surrounding tissue or remote brain tissue. Our aim was to assess MR guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) as a new non-invasive surgical tool for treating essential and parkinsonian tremor by thalamotomy of the ventral-intermediate nucleus.