Oxford Deep-Brain Ultrasound (Tinnitus Quest)
Focused ultrasound targeting limbic/auditory deep-brain nodes
No primary evidence catalogued yet
How it works
Non-invasive focused ultrasound (University of Oxford, funded by Tinnitus Quest) aimed at three deep brain regions implicated in tinnitus, the nucleus accumbens and caudate (limbic/reward circuitry) and the medial geniculate body (auditory thalamus). The reward/limbic targets align directly with the limbic-gating strand of the Interacting Brain Networks hypothesis, and the approach seeks to reproduce, non-invasively, the tinnitus reductions previously reported with invasive deep-brain stimulation at these sites. A Phase 1 study (15 participants) leads into a planned Phase 2 randomized crossover trial.
This describes the treatment concept as reported in the cited research: a scientific mechanism, not a guarantee of clinical availability.