Researchers at the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville have launched a clinical trial that will explore the use of focused ultrasound to treat patients with epilepsy.
The study will be supported by the Focused Ultrasound Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation, and it will evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of focused ultrasound to ablate diseased brain tissue that causes seizures, the university said.
Principal investigator Dr. Nathan Fountain and colleagues plan to recruit up to 15 adult patients with a variety of deep brain lesions that cause seizures and do not respond to medication. Current options for these patients are surgery or laser thermal ablation, both of which have multiple risks and complications.
Fountain's team will conduct the procedures using MR-guided focused ultrasound developer InSightec's Exablate Neuro system, UVA said.
