Table 1.

Current magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) indications under investigation and their status

Indication	Stage	Status
ET	Phase II/III	2 phase I studies completed. Randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study currently being conducted [39, 46]
PD	Phase I	Phase I trial now recruiting for MRgFUS pallidotomy for levodopa-induced dyskinesias of PD and thalamotomy for tremor-dominant PD
Brain tumor—ablation	Phase I	Phase I study now recruiting patients
Brain tumor—BBB disruption	Phase I	Phase I study now recruiting patients
Depression/anxiety	Phase I	Phase I trial now in development for MRgFUS cingulotomy in patients with treatment-refractory OCD and major depression
Pain syndromes	Phase I	Models in cadaveric models completed and have shown feasibility of trigeminal nerve root entry zone lesions [56]. Phase I study under development
		Open-label studies of centromedian thalamotomy for neuropathic pain published and continue to recruit [35, 52]
Epilepsy	Preclinical	Models investigating the feasibility of MRgFUS-mediated amygdalohippocampectomy now in process
AD	Preclinical	Models in transgenic mice have shown that MRgFUS BBB disruption results in influx of anti-Aβ antibodies and subsequent reduction of plaque burden [22, 91]
Thrombolysis/intracerebral hemorrhage	Preclinical	Swine and human cadaveric models demonstrated feasibility of ICH liquefaction. Rabbit carotid occlusion model demonstrated feasibility of this model for vascular recanalization [61, 75–77]
CSF diversion	Preclinical	Preclinical study performed, providing proof-of-principle of MRgFUS third ventriculostomy [92]

ET=essential tremor; PD=Parkinson’s disease; BBB=blood–brain barrier; AD=Alzheimer’s disease; CSF=cerebrospinal fluid; OCD=obsessive–compulsive disorder; Aβ=amyloid beta; ICH=intracerebral hemorrhage