Researchers at University Children's Hospital Zurich in Switzerland have completed a feasibility study testing the use of noninvasive transcranial MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery (TcMRgFUS) for treating neuropathic pain.
The study utilized the ExAblate system from InSightec of Tirat Carmel, Israel, which uses MR-guided focused ultrasound technology to visualize the body's anatomy, plan patient treatment, and monitor outcomes in real-time.
Ten adult patients diagnosed with chronic neuropathic pain successfully underwent noninvasive deep brain ablation surgery (central lateral thalamotomy) with transcranial TcMRgFUS. The patients showed improvement in pain scores and reduction of pain medication with no adverse effects at three months of follow-up.
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