Patient Care
Everything in one place
The two guides our team wrote, a map of every explanation on this site, the practical material you will want before and after treatment, and the outside organizations we trust.
Written by our team
The two patient guides
Our surgeons and neurologists wrote a full-length guide for each therapy, drawn from three decades of caring for people with movement disorders. Most of the material on this site comes from them. Both are published as paperbacks and sold at cost on Amazon.
Sepehr Sani, MD · Neepa Patel, MD
Patient's Guide to Deep Brain Stimulation
The history of DBS, plain-English definitions of the terms you will hear, the conditions it treats, what surgery and programming involve, risks and complications, and living well afterward.
Sepehr Sani, MD · Neepa Patel, MD
Patient's Guide to MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound
A practical guide to the MRgFUS process — from the decision to have the procedure, through the day-of detail of frame, helmet and sonications, to recovery, follow-up and bilateral treatment.
You do not have to buy a copy
Everything in both guides is explained on this site, and our coordinators can talk you through any of it. Call (312) 563-2032 or email neurofus@rush.edu.
On this site
Explanations, by treatment
Every page below is a full explanation written for patients and families rather than for clinicians.
Deep brain stimulation
MRI-guided focused ultrasound
Neuromodulation care generally
Understanding your treatment
Who your team is, and what each procedure involves
Every link below opens a full explanation on this site. Video versions, patient stories and recorded talks are in production and will be added here as they are ready.
Meet the team
Understanding the procedures
Conditions and treatments
Coming as they are made
Patient stories, before-and-after tremor footage, day-of-surgery accounts, community lectures and webinars are being produced and will appear here. Ask your coordinator when the next talk is scheduled, or whether they can put you in touch with someone who has been through the treatment you are considering.
Practical
Guides and practical information
Preparation guidance, recovery instructions, travel and campus details, and what to send ahead of a first appointment.
Preparing for treatment
- Preparing for DBS surgery
- Preparing for focused ultrasound
- What to bring on procedure day
- Recovery expectations
- Preparing for DBS, step by step
- Preparing for focused ultrasound, step by step
Medication and blood-thinner instructions differ between the two treatments and between patients, so they come from your own team rather than from a page.
After treatment
Travel and campus
Paperwork and insurance
Ask your care team for these
Some things are printed for you rather than published here, because they are specific to your treatment and to you:
- Medication and blood-thinner instructions
- Medication logs and tremor diaries
- Programming trackers and symptom journals
- Neuropsychology questionnaires
Call (312) 563-2032 and your coordinator will send the ones that fit your treatment.
Beyond RUSH
Outside organizations we recommend
These supplement rather than replace the guidance your treatment team gives you. Each one has been checked; all open in a new tab.
Movement disorder foundations
Focused ultrasound
DBS device manufacturers
Support and advocacy
Trials and research
Need help finding the right resource?
There is a lot here, and none of it is required reading. If you are not sure where to start, say so — the coordinators know the material and will point you at the part of it that answers your question.
They can also send you what is not on this site yet: the printable trackers, the medication instructions for your particular treatment, and the paperwork for a first appointment.
Call (312) 563-2032 or email neurofus@rush.edu, Monday to Friday, 8:00a–5:00p CT.
Not sure which resource you need?
Our coordinators know the material and will point you at the part of it that answers your question.