Hackensack University Medical Center Becomes 1 of 7 Training Centers Sharing Focused Ultrasound Expertise
Program shares business and clinical best practices for implementing noninvasive tremor treatment technology
The first location in New Jersey to offer focused ultrasound technology for treating tumors and one of the fastest growing programs in the country, Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Hackensack University Medical Center will be one of only seven centers globally serving as a model to other hospitals seeking to adopt this game-changing noninvasive treatment for essential tremor and tremor resulting from Parkinson’s disease.
A leader in the adoption of focused ultrasound for tremor treatment, Hackensack University Medical Center is now part of the InFocus Alliance program, where the hospital will be hosting site visits for other interested hospital teams to explore all aspects of application and resource allocation.
The success of the center’s program and the increased demand for this treatment led to a second Hackensack Meridian Health location at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Focused ultrasound allows targeting areas of the brain responsible for tremor without surgical incision, typically with long-term or permanent effect. MRI guidance helps the physician guide sound waves to the target in the brain. The procedure requires no additional adjustments or maintenance and is an excellent noninvasive alternative to deep brain stimulation.
During the 1.5-day InFocus Alliance site visits at Hackensack University Medical Center, Hooman Azmi, M.D., director of the Division of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at Hackensack University Medical Center and associate professor of Neurosurgery at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, and his team share their knowledge and insight gained applying focused ultrasound for tremors.
Visiting hospital leaders and clinicians, including neurosurgeons and neurologists, gain an insider view of how hospital resources are applied, implementation strategies, patient selection, workflows and can attend a live procedure and gain clinical best practice insight. They also see firsthand the patient’s typically immediate resolution and reaction.
“It’s great to be able to demonstrate the power of the therapy to the physicians who take care of patients today, or who are interested in workflow,” Dr. Azmi said.
Addressing tremor can be life-changing, as it can significantly affect quality of life. Focused ultrasound can eliminate the need for an invasive surgical treatment such as deep brain stimulation. A second session, administered nine months after the first treatment, can address the opposite hand.
Learn more about focused ultrasound therapy at Hackensack University Medical Center.
