Report by Andy Park. First shown on 730 Report 15/1/18
View the episode here
A treatment, which has been the first performed in the southern hemisphere, has shown instant improvement for a patient who has uncontrollable tremors. The treatment, pioneered by St Vincent’s Hospital, involved a procedure that goes inside a patient’s brain and fixing the tremor without a single incision. Neuroradiologist Yael Barnett explains they are going to have a liberty-creating elision in a specific part of the brain they suspect is responsible for the tremor. Neurosurgeon Ben Jonker says the treatment is immediate and they can monitor the patient throughout the treatment, along with adjusting things to actually treat the tremor. The Health Technology Reference Group is reviewing the technology. Jonker notes the treatment is now becoming a lot more widely available in a lot of countries because of things such as public funding.