Next week the Focused Ultrasound Surgery Foundation will participate in the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, where Jeff Elias, M.D. will present early results of a FUSF-funded clinical trial on essential tremor.

The trial – a feasibility and safety study being conducted at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA – has shown promising results thus far, with 11 of 15 patients treated for tremor in their dominant hand.

John Snell, Technical Director of the FUSF Brain Program, explains that CNS will be an opportunity for the foundation to raise awareness of the research being done on MR-guided focused ultrasound and the brain, in the hopes of building future collaboration. “We hope the success of the essential tremor trial will pique the interest of the attendees,” Snell says. “We want to take the opportunity to interact with neurosurgeons who may be interested in pursuing other indications with the technology, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or brain tumors.”

Though FUSF staff have attended CNS meetings individually in the past, this is the first time the foundation will have an exhibit booth and a contingent of five attendees. A press release giving the details of the essential tremor study results will be posted on the foundation web site following Elias’ talk on October 3.