Dr. Vibhor Krishna and Dr. Daniel Roque travel to New Delhi to celebrate a landmark development for neurological care in India and present at the “Transforming Neuroscience: MR-Guided HIFU – A Game Changer” Symposium.

Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) treatment for Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor is now available at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi thanks to a generous donation from the Vattikuti Foundation. The announcement was made during the “Transforming Neuroscience: MRgFUS – A Game Changer” Symposium.

Essential tremor is the most common type of tremor, affecting up to five percent of people worldwide. MRgFUS is an incisionless treatment for patients with certain movement disorders, including essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. MRgFUS can be a safe and effective treatment option for patients who either do not respond to medication or initially respond to medication that eventually becomes ineffective.

Dr. Vibhor Krishna, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Operations at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Department of Neurosurgery, and Dr. Daniel Roque, Director of the UNC Movement Disorders program and Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Outpatient Operations at the UNC Department of Neurology, presented at the symposium. Both physicians have been instrumental in building the focused ultrasound program at UNC Health. “The last few days have been exciting for the focused ultrasound launch at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences,” said Dr. Krishna. “Besides my affinity as an alum of this institution, I am excited that thousands of the most vulnerable patients will have access to this transformative technology.”

The Vattikuti Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Raj and Padma Vattikuti in 1997. Raj Vattikuti immigrated to Detroit to advance his education. The Vattikuti family never forgot their roots in India and have made intentional high-impact gifts in their country of origin. Today, the Vattikuti Foundation’s work spans the globe, enhancing lives of countless individuals by facilitating medical and surgical advancements, education, humanitarian relief and social empowerment initiatives.

Dr. Vibhor Krishna is a board-certified surgeon-scientist in functional neurosurgery and neuromodulation and is an early adopter of focused ultrasound. His research aims to enhance neuromodulation’s effectiveness through personalized medicine, develop and optimize minimally invasive neurosurgery, and test emerging surgical treatments in clinical trials. “This philanthropic donation from the Vattikuti Foundation will prove to be transformational for the wider adoption of focused ultrasound technology,” said Dr. Krishna.

Dr. Daniel Roque is a board-certified neurologist with a clinical focus on the treatment of movement disorders, including essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, and dystonia. His research interests include improvement of different tremors in different diseases through both traditional and innovative methods, and improving quality of life initiatives for patients with movement disorders.

UNC Health is one of the select few health systems in the United States to have a full spectrum of MRgFUS equipment, both high-frequency (650 KHz) and the investigational low-frequency (220 Khz) MRgFUS for brain interventions. Dr. Krishna and Dr. Roque are actively involved in ongoing MRgFUS research as members of the Carolina Consortium for Ultrasound Brain Imaging and Therapeutics (CCUBIT).

Both Dr. Krishna and Dr. Roque have led various informational webinars on focused ultrasound treatment for patients and caregivers in the southeast region. They have also led virtual and in-person educational sessions for physicians in the coastal region of North Carolina, and for physicians and providers at UNC Health in partnership with Insightec, with Dr. Krishna also receiving research support from Insightec. In addition, Dr. Krishna and Dr. Roque are frequently invited to give presentations at conferences hosted by various healthcare organizations, including the Focused Ultrasound Foundation.

Insightec is a global healthcare company, and a pioneer and leader in focused ultrasound. “We are profoundly grateful to the Vattikuti Foundation whose support has enabled us to partner with AIIMS to provide a new therapeutic option for people suffering from movement disorders in India,” said Maurice R Ferré, M.D., CEO and chairman of the board of Insightec. “This initiative will provide access to incisionless neurosurgery and improve countless lives.”

 

 

Written by Makenzie Hardy, Marketing Coordinator, Department of Neurosurgery