Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy is cost-effective for tremor compared with deep brain stimulation (DBS) and stereotactic radiosurgery and more effective than both, according to a recent study. Researchers conducted literature searches of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy, DBS, and stereotactic radiosurgery for essential tremor. Pre- and post-operative tremor-related disability scores were collected from 32 studies involving 83 magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomies, 615 DBSs, and 260 stereotactic radiosurgery cases. They found:

• Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy resulted in significantly higher utility scores compared with DBS or stereotactic radiosurgery.
• Projected costs of magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy were significantly less than DBS, but not significantly different from radiosurgery.