The intervention used high-frequency focused ultrasound, or HIFU, and it marked the first time in the United States that the procedure had been used outside of a clinical trial for the primary treatment of Parkinson’s.

In July, the device’s manufacturer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved the procedure for treating patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease.

“This is a huge step forward for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease,” said Daniel Cleary, M.D., assistant professor of neurological surgery in the OHSU School of Medicine.