 Essential tremor is a common movement disorder. It's a neurological condition that causes involuntary shaking, typically of the arms and hands. The shaking makes it difficult to perform basic tasks, such as writing, eating, and drinking, so it can significantly impact people's quality of life. In most cases, the symptoms get worse gradually over time. There are no definitive tests for essential tremor, so it is diagnosed by ruling out other possible conditions that could be causing similar symptoms. This is done through physical examination, reviewing your health history, and by conducting some laboratory tests. Neurologic tests can also be performed, such as testing your ability to write, eat, or drink. For some patients, medications may help control the shaking. For those who are no longer getting good symptom relief with medications, we have two main surgical options. Deep brain stimulation and gamma knife. Deep brain stimulation is a surgical procedure where we place an electrode in the part of the brain that controls the tremor. This wire is then connected to an implanted device similar to a pacemaker. This procedure is discussed in greater detail in another video in this series. Some patients may not tolerate surgery well or may not be comfortable with having an implanted device. For those patients, gamma knife offers a less invasive alternative. Despite its name, gamma knife is not a knife and does not require us to cut into the skin or the skull. It is an outpatient procedure that is safer than open craniotomy and more precise than any other radio surgery device, including cyber knife. We direct 192 beams of gamma radiation from multiple directions to pinpoint the VIM nucleus, a part of the brain that modulates tremor. Because each beam is a low-dose beam, it doesn't harm the surrounding tissue. However, at the point of convergence, they are powerful enough to alter the VIM nucleus and reduce or eliminate the shaking. Patients typically go home the same day and resume their normal activities the following day. Mid-Michigan has the only gamma knife perfection device in Michigan. We now offer gamma knife treatment for patients with essential tremor and our patients have experienced good symptom relief after treatment. If you or someone you love may benefit from this treatment, you can call our Gamma Knife Suite to arrange a discussion.