Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto recently announced that it received $1.4 million in funding for patients with essential tremor to receive non-invasive focused ultrasound treatment.
The Honourable Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, announced the investment, which will allow the Sunnybrook team to treat 72 more patients. To date, the site has treated 130 essential tremor patients using focused ultrasound since 2012.
“Focused ultrasound is the new frontier of medicine. Replacing scalpels with sound waves is revolutionary for the field and more importantly is an incredible advance in the quality of care for patients. This will minimize hospital stays, reduce infections, and give people a new sense of hope,” said Dr. Andy Smith, President and CEO of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Nir Lipsman, MD, PhD, Director of the Harquail Centre for Neurdomodulation, has led many of the focused ultrasound initiatives at Sunnybrook. He treated the first essential tremor patients there as part of the international pivotal trial that led to US and Canadian regulatory approval of the treatment. Since then, he has also treated patients with brain tumors, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain disorders.
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