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As Stan Au's Parkinson's disease symptoms progressed, everyday activities became daily battles. His hands shook so badly that he struggled to hold utensils and couldn't sign his name. He stopped playing pickleball—a sport he once enjoyed—despite taking a widely prescribed medication for managing motor symptoms, such as rigidity or stiffness, slow movement, involuntary muscle movement (dyskinesia) and tremors.

Diagnosed with Parkinson's 12 years ago, Au of Essex Fells, New Jersey, and his wife, Pam, explored other treatments, including deep brain stimulation, which involves implanting electrodes into brain structures that help control movement. "Stan wasn't singing out of that hymn book—he had no interest in having brain surgery," Pam Au said.

Hope emerged in 2020, when they met Dr. Harini Sarva, associate professor of clinical neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine. The couple felt that Sarva took their concerns seriously and thoroughly explored existing treatments.

"It was a partnership finding the right treatment for Stan," said Sarva, who is also a neurologist and chief of the Division of Movement Disorders at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She recommended a clinical trial for magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS). This noninvasive, outpatient treatment focuses ultrasound waves on a tiny pathway deep within the brain to create a precise lesion that interrupts abnormal movement signals.

"Parkinson's affects about 1 million Americans, and while there is no cure, ultrasound treatments offer patients a better quality of life, reducing some of the most disabling effects of the disease," said Dr.

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