In a unique twist of fate, an engineer who spent decades developing cutting-edge technologies for Israel’s defense sector, found himself not only the creator of a groundbreaking Parkinson’s treatment but a patient treated with the very device he had developed.
After transitioning from a career in defense to healthcare innovation, Kobi Vortman, PhD set out to develop a non-invasive method to treat brain conditions like Parkinson’s disease. Two decades later, he found himself on the receiving end of the treatment he had invented. Vortman’s innovation, focused ultrasound (FUS) with the guidance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), targets the deep areas of the brain responsible for tremors, offering a non-invasive alternative to brain surgery. The technology has already benefited over 22,000 patients worldwide and is reshaping treatment for conditions like Parkinson’s and essential tremor.
Six years after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Vortman underwent FUS at Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, the first hospital in the world to implement the new treatment. Following treatment, Vortman’s life has completely turned around. “I’m taking long walks again, something I struggled with before.”
During the treatment, a helmet is worn, through which high-intensity ultrasound waves are used to precisely target the diseased area of the brain without affecting any surrounding tissue. The ultrasound rays pass through the intact skull and pinpoint a particular area in the center of the brain (the thalamus) for ablation. The result is interruption of the abnormal flow of electrical signals and cessation of tremor. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used by the surgeon to accurately direct the ultrasound waves to the specific site in the brain where the tremor is initiated—hence the treatment name—MRI-guided FUS. The doctors monitor the results in real-time and adapts treatment to a patient’s specific condition for optimal results.
Kobi Vortman being treated inside the MRI machine wearing the focused ultrasound helmet.
Photography: Rambam HCC
Because the beams pass harmlessly through the intact skull, the treatment is incision-free, requires no general anesthesia or hospital stay, and produces rapid and often immediate tremor relief, particularly in patients who have stopped responding to medication.
Dr. Lior Lev-Tov, the head of Functional Neurosurgery Unit, underscores the accuracy of the treatment: “This technology allows us to target energy with pinpoint precision—down to 0.1 mm—in the 2 mm area responsible for tremors in the thalamus.”
Professor Ilana Schlesinger, director of the Movement Disorders Institute in the Department of Neurology at Rambam, adds: “We have come a long way since the first FUS treatment in the world was performed at Rambam. This technology has already changed the lives of many patients worldwide. It is an effective tool in the ongoing fight against Parkinson’s disease.”
Looking ahead, Vortman is confident that applications for MRI-guided FUS will expand. Conditions like epilepsy, chronic pain, and depression could potentially benefit from this technology. He envisions a future where brain treatments are no longer invasive, and patients are treated via a simple “helmet.”
“This is just the beginning,” Vortman concludes. “I truly believe that one day, we’ll look back and wonder how we ever accepted the idea of opening the skull to treat the brain.”
Based on a Hebrew language article in Ynet.
