UNC Neurosurgery has reached an exciting milestone: 100 high-intensity focused ultrasound (FUS) treatments performed for patients living with movement disorders.
Focused ultrasound is a non-surgical, outpatient treatment that uses targeted ultrasound, guided by real-time MRI images, to treat conditions like essential tremor without any radiation. During the procedure, patients stay awake and do simple tests so the care team can make sure the treatment is working in real time. For many people whose tremor isn’t helped by medication, improvement can happen right away.
UNC Health supports focused ultrasound patients through a dedicated interdisciplinary clinic, bringing together neurosurgeons, neurologists, and specialized care teams to evaluate each case collaboratively. By integrating expertise across specialties, the program helps ensure patients receive thoughtful guidance and coordinated care as they explore this innovative treatment option.
At UNC Health, patients considering focused ultrasound are cared for in a dedicated clinic where neurosurgeons, neurologists and specialized teams work together. By bringing these experts together, the clinic makes sure patients get clear guidance and coordinated care as they explore this treatment.
Since joining UNC in 2021, Vibhor Krishna, MD, has led the development of the focused ultrasound program and helped advance the field through landmark studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA Neurology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “Focused ultrasound is an exciting new treatment for patients with neurological disorders because it requires no surgical incision, and patients can go home the same day after treatment,” Dr. Krishna said.