Focused Ultrasound for Movement Disorders: A Bibliometric Analysis Revealing a Critical Research Gap in Mexico

Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy is an established incisionless treatment for essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease. The geographic distribution of research activity and Latin American participation remain incompletely characterized.

We analyzed focused ultrasound publications in movement disorders indexed in Web of Science and Scopus from inception through September 22, 2026. Records were screened against prespecified eligibility criteria and analyzed with bibliometrix in R. We assessed publication trends, countries, authors, collaboration networks, and keywords. Country participation was examined by corresponding-author country and all-author affiliations. SciELO was searched separately to identify regional literature missed by the primary databases.

The final corpus included 1,907 documents from 546 sources and 5,503 authors. Annual publication growth was 8.56%, with output increasing from 55 publications in 2016 to 258 in 2024. Among 1,596 records with an assignable corresponding-author country, the United States accounted for 536 (33.6%), followed by China and Canada. No Latin American country ranked among the ten most productive. Forty-five publications included at least one Latin American affiliation, including 9 with a Mexican affiliation. None reported clinical outcomes from patients treated with focused ultrasound for a movement disorder in Mexico. SciELO identified one additional regional record but no Mexican clinical series.

Focused ultrasound research in movement disorders has expanded substantially but remains geographically concentrated. Latin American participation is emerging, but Mexico has yet to contribute published clinical outcome data. Prospective registries and multicenter regional collaborations could strengthen locally relevant evidence.

Global scientific production on focused ultrasound for movement disorders has grown steadily over the past decade, with a marked acceleration after the 2016 FDA approval for essential tremor, and remains concentrated in a small number of high-income countries. Clinical output has begun to appear in Latin America, with series reported from Chile and Argentina, but Mexico has adopted the technology without contributing clinical outcome data. Treatment decisions at the single Mexican center currently offering the procedure therefore rest on evidence generated in other populations.