What is Focused Ultrasound?
Focused Ultrasound (FUS) is an incisionless treatment option for people living with Essential Tremor (ET) and Parkinson’s disease who continue to experience tremors despite medication or other therapies. It offers a personalized targeted treatment approach for carefully selected patients seeking meaningful tremor relief.
MRI-guided Focused Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves, precisely directed with real-time MRI imaging, to target a small area of the brain called the Ventral Intermediate Nucleus (Vim) of the thalamus. This region plays an important role in tremor activity. By focusing energy on this precise location, physicians create a controlled lesion that can significantly reduce tremors without incisions, implants or radiation.
Each treatment is carefully planned and guided by MRI to ensure precision and provide care tailored to each patient’s unique anatomy and symptoms. The goal is to reduce tremors and help patients regain confidence in everyday activities such as eating, writing and drinking.
Is Focused Ultrasound Right for You?
A consultation with our care team can help determine whether Focused Ultrasound may be an appropriate option for you. During this visit, we take time to understand your symptoms, medical history and previous treatments to see whether this approach may be a good fit.
Patients are also screened for safety considerations, including whether any implanted devices are compatible with MRI. This helps ensure the treatment is both safe and appropriate for each individual.
If Focused Ultrasound may be a potential option, your physician will walk you through the process and explain what to expect before, during and after treatment. Our goal is to provide clear information so you can make an informed decision about your care.
What to expect with treatment
Evaluation before treatment:
- The treatment team will review your medical history and confirm MRI compatibility if you have any implants. You will undergo a CT scan to measure your skull density.
Day of treatment:
- Your hair will be shaved. After giving local anesthetic, a head frame will be fitted. You will undergo MRI scanning, and you will stay awake and communicate with the treatment team throughout the procedure, which typically lasts between 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Sound waves will be focused on a targeted area of your brain to reduce tremors, with MRI imaging guiding the treatment. After the procedure, the head frame will be removed. You will be monitored briefly in a recovery room before being discharged, usually the same day.
After treatment:
- Tremor is typically immediately reduced after the procedure. Many patients experience temporary imbalance for 2 to 3 weeks. Most patients can return to normal activities within a few days.
Why choose Focused Ultrasound?
Focused Ultrasound offers an effective, incisionless treatment option for people living with Essential Tremor, helping many patients regain confidence and independence in everyday activities. From enjoying a meal with family to writing a note or holding a grandchild, relief from tremors can make a meaningful difference in daily life. If you or someone you love has tremors that have not responded well to medication, Focused Ultrasound may provide a life-changing option.
UT Health San Antonio is proud to be the first hospital in San Antonio to offer Focused Ultrasound through the UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital. Our program is supported by a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgical and movement disorders experts, including specialists from the Neurology Movement Disorders Division, home to the only Parkinson's Foundation Comprehensive Care Center in 17³Ô¹ÏÍø.
If you're interested in learning more about how Focused Ultrasound may improve your quality of life or whether you're a candidate for treatment, our team is here to answer your questions and guide you through next steps.
To learn more or schedule a consultation, speak with a member of our care team at .
Understanding Focused Ultrasound
What it is, what to expect and how it's changing lives.
What is Focused Ultrasound?
What to Expect During Focused Ultrasound?
Patient Journey
Meet Our Care Team
Alexander Papanastassiou, MD
, Director of Stereotactic, Functional, and Epilepsy Neurosurgery at UT Health San Antonio, is an expert in treating essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia. He studied at Stanford University and the University of California at San Francisco. He trained at Harvard University and Yale. Dr. Papanastassiou is a married father of two who enjoys spending time with his family, bicycling, and playing jazz piano.
Andrew Conner, MD
, is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon specializing in functional neurosurgery and the surgical treatment of movement disorders, including essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. He received his medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine and trained in neurosurgery at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He completed his functional neurosurgery fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
UT Health Medical Arts & Research Center
UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital
San Antonio TX, 78229
Locations
UT Health Medical Arts & Research Center – Neurosurgery
8300 Floyd Curl Drive,
7th Floor
San Antonio TX, 78229
UT Health San Antonio Multispecialty and Research Hospital
8311 Ewing Halsell Drive
San Antonio TX, 78229
