BINGHAMTON, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--United Health Services (UHS), one of Upstate New York’s largest and most comprehensive integrated healthcare systems, today announced the launch of its focused ultrasound program to treat essential tremor, a common movement disorder affecting an estimated ten million Americans. The state-of-the-art, incisionless and minimally invasive focused ultrasound treatment uses ultrasound energy guided by MRI to target and treat the area of the brain that is the source of tremor.
UHS is now scheduling in-person and virtual appointments to screen individuals for essential tremor and discuss treatment options.
"Essential tremor can be an increasingly debilitating condition to live with, and I am pleased that UHS is able to bring focused ultrasound to patients in the region," said Simone Betchen, MD, MBA, FACS, FAANS, Chief of Neurosciences and attending neurosurgeon at UHS. “This minimally invasive treatment may offer immediate hand tremor improvement for patients and studies show that the improvement is sustained for years following treatment. This is an incredible opportunity to help people living with essential tremor regain control and improve their quality of life."
Essential tremor is largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Symptoms include uncontrollable shaking that occurs for brief periods on one or both sides of the body that may worsen during times of emotional stress and purposeful movement. Essential tremor is a progressive condition that over time can significantly impact quality of life and ability to complete day-to-day activities. People with essential tremor often struggle with motor function, which can make basic tasks like cooking, grooming and writing challenging and greatly impact the ability to live independently. Unfortunately, medications to treat essential tremor are not always effective and effectiveness may decrease over time.
As an incisionless outpatient procedure, focused ultrasound allows for quick recovery with patients returning home the same day. UHS is the first and only healthcare system in New York state to use the latest iteration of this technology, providing higher image quality, more precise targeting and potentially reduced procedure time, resulting in a more efficient treatment experience for patients. Clinical studies have found focused ultrasound highly effective for the treatment of essential tremor, with an average of 73.1% improvement in hand tremor severity at 5-year follow up. Most side effects were reported as mild or moderate in severity, with symptoms typically improving within a few days or months. Common side effects include numbness/tingling, imbalance, unsteadiness, gait disturbance and muscle weakness.
People who think that they or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of essential tremor that are impacting quality of life, or find that their tremor is not responding to medication, should contact UHS to discuss screening and treatment options:
- tremortreatment@nyuhs.org
- 607-763-5404
- nyuhs.org/focused-ultrasound
In addition, patients who have previously received focused ultrasound treatment elsewhere for first side and want to explore second side treatment may also be eligible for treatment at UHS and should reach out to discuss next steps.
To learn more about essential tremor and focused ultrasound as a treatment option, register for the upcoming UHS essential tremor treatment webinar on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 3 p.m. ET: https://www.nyuhs.org/events-search/2106.
Focused ultrasound is performed as part of the UHS Neurosciences Program with the Exablate® Prime platform, developed by medical technology company Insightec.
About United Health Services (UHS)
United Health Services (UHS) is a locally owned, not-for-profit hospital and healthcare system serving Greater Binghamton and surrounding counties. Founded in 1981, UHS provides a full range of medical, surgical, rehabilitative and long-term care services throughout New York’s Southern Tier. United Health Services, Inc. and the members of the UHS System neither are affiliated with, sponsored, endorsed nor approved by, nor otherwise associated with, Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE: UHS), UHS of Delaware, Inc. nor their affiliates.
Follow the latest UHS news and more at nyuhs.org or on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.
