On the late afternoon of March, 19, 2024 faculty, staff, patients, and stakeholders from Neurology, Neurosurgery, the Biomedical Research Imaging Center (BRIC), UNC Hospitals, and UNC School of Medicine gathered to celebrate the official launch of the Focused Ultrasound program at Marsico on UNC campus.
Focused Ultrasound therapies involve an exciting new technology at UNC that is approved clinically to treat tremors in patients with Essential Tremor and Parkinson disease. Using a dome-like array from which ultrasound waves can converge at a focal point within the skull, UNC Neurosurgery faculty Dr. Vibhor Krishna can direct these waves to a focal point within the brain, heating up this portion of the brain without ever opening the skull to perform more traditional neurosurgery. The heating process is performed slowly while Dr. Daniel Roque, movement disorders and tremor subspecialist, examines the patient who enters and exits an MRI scanner from within which the procedure is performed. The program at UNC offers a unique, team-based approach between neurosurgical and neurological services where gradual heating mixed with frequent, targeted examinations of the patient in real-time provide a level of unprecedented degree of immediate tremor relief to one affected arm while significantly reducing the risks associated with heating areas of the brain that are off target.
At our center, for years we have taken aim at better understanding and distinguishing between movement disorders that lead to tremor as a disruptive symptom. With this expertise, we can now offer all of the latest technologies available to our tremor patients thanks to the addition of focused ultrasound ablation. This bridges a much-needed gap in tremor care that often would quickly lead to successful but more invasive therapies like deep brain stimulation surgery after failing medications and occupational therapy.
– Dr. Daniel Roque, UNC Neurology
As this new technology continues to serve Essential Tremor and Parkinson Disease patients, researchers are looking towards future applications of the technology.
…and the prospects don’t stop here. Focused ultrasound is already being investigated in a number of other movement disorders and neurological conditions, adapting the technology to safely modulate the nervous system and deliver drug therapy more precisely in areas of interest.
– Dr. Daniel Roque, UNC Neurology
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Watch the WRAL video below to learn more about the procedure:
Read more about Focused Ultrasound at UNC:
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New Focused Ultrasound Effective for treating Parkinson’s, Movement Disorders
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Focused Ultrasound Treatment at UNC Makes the Holiday Season Brighter for Essential Tremor Patients