Noninvasive ultrasound technology offering new hope for Parkinson's, essential tremor patients

UNC Health is celebrating the addition of new technology to the hospital system in Chapel Hill, more than five years after efforts began to offer high-intensity focused ultrasounds.

High-intensity focused ultrasound treatment is used to alleviate uncontrollable shaking in patients with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease.

Instead of traditional surgery requiring incisions, ultrasound technology uses sound waves to target the thalamus, the area of the brain responsible for the uncontrollable shaking.

Doug Bell, 73, was the first patient to undergo the procedure through UNC Health.

Bell said his essential tremor on both sides grew progressively worse in his late 60s.

“It was bad,” he said.

Bell recalled not being able to hold a coffee mug or eat food without throwing things on the floor.

“At church, I’d have to give talks and I’d have to hold a microphone and they thought I was nervous,” he said. “I’d have to tell them, ‘I’m not nervous! I just shake!'”

Unlike other surgeries aimed at eliminating tremors, the ultrasound technology offers immediate results. Patients are often discharged within a few hours after treatment.

Bell said he felt like he had his freedom back within minutes of his procedure in late 2023.

“They’d bring me out every 10-15 minutes to see how I was doing until finally it was still,” Bells said. “It was wonderful. I can eat now without throwing food all over the place. I can text and so much more. You use your hands for everything.”

The ultrasound technology used by UNC Health cost around $2 million and is made by the company Insightec.

The health system decided to locate the machine inside the Biomedical Research Imaging Center in Marsico Hall.

Dr. Daniel Roque, UNC Health neurology specialist, called the addition “a major step forward in the opportunity to manage tremor.”

He continued, “This is now a real bridge between these significantly more conservative and common-place options and those advanced surgeries.”

Dr. Vibhor Krishna agreed with Roque, adding “This program offers hope.”

Krishna said the noninvasive option does more than just relieve tremors.

“A lot of patients share it causes social isolation and anxiety in social settings. It has implications beyond just not being able to use the hand,” Krishna said.

One study reported a five-year effectiveness rate of 73% in patients who had received focused ultrasound treatment.

Dr. Krishna explained the therapy was first tested in the 1960s but was abandoned for several decades until advancements in technology allowed for it to be done in a safer way.

The modern-day procedure is covered by most insurance, including Medicare.

Krishna said patients with shaking on both sides will require two procedures, roughly 9-12 months apart.

Bell said he is scheduled to have his second procedure later this year to correct the tremor on his left side.

In addition to UNC Health, the technology and treatment is also offered through Duke Health in Durham, Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.