MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgFUS)

From August 2026, The Intervention Centre at Oslo University Hospital started to offer a new national treatment for essential tremor: MR-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) delivered by INSIGHTEC and Siemens Healthineers. 🧠

The method is non-invasive — no incision, no general anaesthesia. A helmet-shaped array of 1,024 transducers focuses ultrasound on a precise target deep in the brain, with the temperature monitored in real time by MRI. Because the patient stays awake, the team can confirm the tremor has stopped before the change is made permanent.

The service was approved by Beslutningsforum for Nye metoder in October 2025, with Oslo University Hospital selected to host it in December, and is funded by Helse Sør-Øst RHF. The centre will aim to treat around 60 patients a year — many of whom previously had no surgical option, and some of whom were sent abroad for care.

"It is hard to find another method that changes lives so much, so quickly," says Einar Hopp, who heads the Section for Radiological Research at the Intervention Centre.

The full article in Norwegian: 
https://www.dagensmedisin.no/beslutningsforum-intervensjonssenteret-nevrokirurgi/det-er-vanskelig-a-finne-en-annen-metode-som-pa-sa-kort-tid-forandrer-liv-sa-mye/756546