High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Surgery for the Treatment of Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder

Transcranial magnetic-resonance-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRgFUS) has recently received attention as a novel noninvasive therapeutic option that can be applied as an alternative to the established neurosurgical interventions in the treatment of neurologic disorders such as essential tremor, tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease, and chronic neuropathic pain syndrome. Furthermore, a recently reported study has suggested that MRgFUS can also be used to treat patients with treatment-refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) without inducing side-effects. In this chapter the authors describe the current understanding of the neural circuitry involved in OCD and review the history, general principles, and typical treatment protocols of MRgFUS. The chapter discusses the results of clinical investigations that utilized MRgFUS for patients with treatment-refractory OCD.