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  • Brain
  • Spine
  • Pain
  • Neural Engineering

The Next Wave: Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation for Brain, Spine and Pain

Details

Date
Thursday, January 21, 2027
Time
7:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Room
Milano Ballroom III & IV
Session type
Pre-Conference Session
Schedule
See this day

About

For fifteen years, focused ultrasound was a promise: reach any circuit in the nervous system with no incision, no lead, no implant. The promise just became a procedure. Twice. Thalamotomy for tremor and Parkinson's: a decade of outcomes, real coverage, patients waiting. And as of November 2025, medial branch neurotomy for low back pain: cleared, commercial, and sitting squarely in the interventional pain lane. Every technology has one moment when ownership is decided. Radiofrequency had it. Stimulation had it. This is ultrasound's moment, and it will belong to the specialists in the room when it turns: neurosurgeons and interventional pain physicians. One day at NANS. The pioneers who ran the pivotal trials. A routine case, start to finish. The reimbursement map. The machines, hands-on, at lunch. And the Build List: what this field still needs, and who will build it. The wave isn't coming. It's here. Own it.

Learning objectives

  • Describe the dose parameters, mechanisms, and safety envelope that distinguish low-intensity focused ultrasound neuromodulation from high-intensity ablation, and apply this distinction across brain, spine, and peripheral nerve applications.
  • Distinguish which focused ultrasound indications have reached routine clinical practice from those that remain investigational, and appraise the evidence quality of each; including the effect of sham design and auditory confounds on the published literature.
  • Identify appropriate candidates for focused ultrasound medial branch neurotomy, and compare the technique against radiofrequency ablation, peripheral nerve stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, and deep brain stimulation with respect to evidence, workflow, and patient selection.

Faculty

Presentations