Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for Essential Tremor in the Setting of a Ventricular Shunt: Technical Report

A recent randomized controlled trial of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound (FUS) for essential tremor (ET) demonstrated safety and efficacy. Patients with ventricular shunts may be good candidates for FUS to minimize hardware-associated infections.

To demonstrate feasibility of FUS in this subset of patients.

A 74-yr-old male with medically refractory ET, and a right-sided ventricular shunt for normal pressure hydrocephalus, underwent FUS to the right ventro-intermedius (VIM) nucleus. The VIM nucleus was directly targeted using deterministic tractography. Clinical outcomes were measured using the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor.

Shunt components required 6% of the total ultrasound transducer elements to be shut off. Eight therapeutic sonications were delivered (maximum temperature, 64°), leading to a 90% improvement in hand tremor and a 100% improvement in functional disability at the 3-mo follow-up. No complications were noted.

This is the first case of FUS thalamotomy in a patient with a shunt. Direct VIM targeting and achievement of therapeutic temperatures with acoustic energy is feasible in this subset of patients.