UCI Health offers incision-free, outpatient therapy to control tremors
New program uses focused sound waves to quiet essential tremor and tremors related to Parkinson’s disease
Orange, Calif. — UCI Health has launched an MR-guided, focused ultrasound program, expanding access to breakthrough outpatient treatment options for patients living with essential tremor and tremor-predominant Parkinson’s disease.
“The launch of our precision Focused Ultrasound Program allows essential tremor and Parkinson’s patients to benefit from state-of-the-art, outpatient treatment options close to home,” said UCI Health neurologist Dr. Claire Henchcliffe, a renowned specialist in movement disorders and chair of neurology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine.
The Focused Ultrasound (FUS) Program, Henchcliffe said, also “highlights the importance our academic health system places on increasing patient access to the latest research, clinical trials and innovative treatments to improve function while fostering independence and quality of life.”
Essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The involuntary shaking typically occurs in one or both hands without other neurological signs, making it difficult to complete basic activities such as eating, grooming, writing and more.
Located at the new UCI Health — Irvine hospital, the program advances the clinical expertise of the neurologists and neurosurgeons at Orange County’s only academic health system. This program complements the health system’s growing movement disorder services rooted in research excellence and innovation, such as Henchcliffe’s ongoing research into promising stem-cell treatments to restore neural networks lost to Parkinson’s disease.
The FUS program is led by UCI Health neurosurgeon Dr. Michelle Paff. The FDA-approved outpatient treatment for essential tremor uses magnetic resonance imaging to precisely direct acoustic energy, or sound waves, at a tiny area in the brain and destroy the tissue causing the tremors.
Benefits of the outpatient FUS procedure include :
- No incisions or implanted hardware
- Immediate tremor control
- No hospital stay
- No long-term maintenance needed
With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval last year to expand the use of FUS, UCI Health also offers the therapy for tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease and, in some cases, to treat Parkinson's disease that is resistant to standard medications.
For additional information about FUS, visit the Focused Ultrasound Program page or call 714-509-2005.
About UCI Health
UCI Health is one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health — Orange, UCI Health — Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County’s only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education. Follow UCI Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.