CHICAGO: The idea is to zap tremor-causing nerve cells in the brain by focusing intersecting sound waves on them without damaging surrounding tissue – sort of like holding a magnifying glass above a leaf so that intensified light can burn a tiny spot.
Focused ultrasound, however, goes beyond diagnosis to treatment. An MRI guides highly focused, intersecting ultrasound beams to zap cells deep within the body. While this use is still mostly under clinical study, it has the advantage of being noninvasive, so recovery is quicker, and the process is less expensive.