A team at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has performed the first dual-target high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) procedures in the Rocky Mountain region for patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, targeting two adjacent brain tracts in a single outpatient session to address a broader range of motor symptoms than previously possible with HIFU alone.
Parkinson’s disease affects more than 1.2 million Americans and is a progressive neurological condition with no cure. In advanced stages, motor complications include rest tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and dyskinesia. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has long been a surgical option for managing these symptoms, but some patients are not suitable candidates due to infection risk or other contraindications.
HIFU is an incisionless procedure that delivers focused ultrasound waves to interrupt abnormal neural circuitry. The FDA has approved two separate HIFU targets for Parkinson’s: the dentatorubrothalamic tract (DRTT), which addresses tremor, and the pallidothalamic tract (PTT), approved more recently, which targets rigidity, slowness of movement, and involuntary movements. The dual-target procedure treats both tracts, located six to nine millimetres apart, within the same approximately 90-minute outpatient session.
Both patients treated at CU Anschutz experienced immediate motor improvement. One patient achieved an estimated 70% improvement in stiffness and movement speed alongside complete tremor resolution following the PTT component. A second patient with concurrent dementia showed resolution of rigidity and tremor, with no further complications reported.
The treating neurologist noted that outcomes from DRTT treatment in over 100 patients at the centre have shown sustained benefit for at least five years. Longer-term data on dual-target and bilateral PTT approaches are still under investigation, including potential cognitive effects.
Source: Casey C. First dual-target high-intensity focused ultrasound procedure for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease. CU Anschutz Medical Campus via Medical Xpress, September 2026.
