Focused Ultrasound

MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery is a new, non-invasive approach to traditional surgery.

Focused ultrasound is similar to using a magnifying glass to focus multiple beams of light on a single point to start a fire.

MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery concentrates many beams of ultrasound energy to a single spot in the body. These focused ultrasound beams cause heating and ablation (destruction) of the targeted area without damaging surrounding tissue.

The procedure takes place inside of an MRI machine. The MRI allows doctors to precisely guide the system and monitor temperatures.

• Focused ultrasound surgery is approved for treatment of uterine fibroids.
  
• Clinical trials are in development at UVA to test the device for movement disorders and metastatic brain tumors.

Potential Uses for Focused Ultrasound Surgery: 

Movement Disorders

Clinical Trials for Essential Tremor and Parkinson's

UVA doctor Jeff Elias, MD, conducted the first-ever clinical trial to treat essential tremor with focused ultrasound surgery in 2011.

Dr. Elias now has a trial open to test the device for treatment of tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease. (Find out more about Parkinson's.)

We are in the early stages of these trials, which will test the safety of the procedure and see if it works as expected. If the research is successful, focused ultrasound may be approved by the FDA in several years. Right now, though, movement disorder patients can only have this surgery as part of a clinical trial.

• The number of patients in these trials is limited (less than 50 patients per trial).
  
• There is a long wait time for patients being screened for trials.

Sign Up: Pre-Screening Database for Movement Disorders

Use our pre-screening database to let us know you're interested in clinical trials for movement disorders. Signing up is the best way to get your information to us and ensure we can communicate with you.

If you sign up and let us know you're diagnosed with Parkinson's, you'll be automatically placed in a pool of candidates for our current Parkinson's trial. Plans are also under way to test the treatment on more essential tremor patients, so sign up if you're interested.

Sign up now.

Approved Use for Focused Ultrasound Surgery:
Uterine Fibroids

Focused ultrasound is FDA-approved for the treatment of uterine fibroids.

Find out more about focused ultrasound for uterine fibroids.