Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease Using MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound
By MedImaging International staff writers Posted on 12 Oct 2015 |
Researchers are conducting the first clinical trial of a new noninvasive treatment for symptoms of Parkinson’s disease using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-guided ultrasound.
The researchers used MRI to guide ultrasound waves through the skin and skull to the globus pallidus region of the brain. The globus pallidus regulates voluntary movement and current treatment sometimes involves surgery or medication that treats symptoms such as tremors, rigidity and dyskinesia in Parkinson’s patients. Current treatment methods can temporarily reduce motor symptomatology, and have unwanted side effects.
The new technique was developed by researchers from the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC; Baltimore, MD, USA), and the UMM Center for Metabolic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapeutics (CMIT), and takes between two to four hours. The patient is treated in an MRI scanner and wears a transducer helmet within a head-immobilizing frame. The globus pallidus region of the brain is then targeted using ultrasound waves while images are acquired in real-time allowing physicians to monitor the target area and make adjustments if needed.
The results of the initial phase of the study show that patients experienced a significant improvement in hand tremors.
Principal investigator Howard M. Eisenberg, said, “The neurology community has made significant strides in helping patients with Parkinson’s over the years; utilization of MRI-guided focused ultrasound could help limit the life-altering side effects like dyskinesia to make the disease more manageable and less debilitating. We’re raising the temperature in a very restricted area of the brain to destroy tissue. The ultrasound waves create a heat lesion that we can monitor through MRI.”
Related Links:
UMMC
The researchers used MRI to guide ultrasound waves through the skin and skull to the globus pallidus region of the brain. The globus pallidus regulates voluntary movement and current treatment sometimes involves surgery or medication that treats symptoms such as tremors, rigidity and dyskinesia in Parkinson’s patients. Current treatment methods can temporarily reduce motor symptomatology, and have unwanted side effects.
The new technique was developed by researchers from the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC; Baltimore, MD, USA), and the UMM Center for Metabolic Imaging and Image-Guided Therapeutics (CMIT), and takes between two to four hours. The patient is treated in an MRI scanner and wears a transducer helmet within a head-immobilizing frame. The globus pallidus region of the brain is then targeted using ultrasound waves while images are acquired in real-time allowing physicians to monitor the target area and make adjustments if needed.
The results of the initial phase of the study show that patients experienced a significant improvement in hand tremors.
Principal investigator Howard M. Eisenberg, said, “The neurology community has made significant strides in helping patients with Parkinson’s over the years; utilization of MRI-guided focused ultrasound could help limit the life-altering side effects like dyskinesia to make the disease more manageable and less debilitating. We’re raising the temperature in a very restricted area of the brain to destroy tissue. The ultrasound waves create a heat lesion that we can monitor through MRI.”
Related Links:
UMMC
Latest Ultrasound News
- Largest Model Trained On Echocardiography Images Assesses Heart Structure and Function
- Groundbreaking Technology Enables Precise, Automatic Measurement of Peripheral Blood Vessels
- Deep Learning Advances Super-Resolution Ultrasound Imaging
- Novel Ultrasound-Launched Targeted Nanoparticle Eliminates Biofilm and Bacterial Infection
- AI-Guided Ultrasound System Enables Rapid Assessments of DVT
- Focused Ultrasound Technique Gets Quality Assurance Protocol
- AI-Guided Handheld Ultrasound System Helps Capture Diagnostic-Quality Cardiac Images
- Non-Invasive Ultrasound Imaging Device Diagnoses Risk of Chronic Kidney Disease
- Wearable Ultrasound Platform Paves Way for 24/7 Blood Pressure Monitoring On the Wrist
- Diagnostic Ultrasound Enhancing Agent to Improve Image Quality in Pediatric Heart Patients
- AI Detects COVID-19 in Lung Ultrasound Images
- New Ultrasound Technology to Revolutionize Respiratory Disease Diagnoses
- Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Highly Useful For Interventions
- Ultrasensitive Broadband Transparent Ultrasound Transducer Enhances Medical Diagnosis
- Artificial Intelligence Detects Heart Defects in Newborns from Ultrasound Images
- Ultrasound Imaging Technology Allows Doctors to Watch Spinal Cord Activity during Surgery