New center will bring together Gamma Knife radiosurgery and MRI-guided focused ultrasound to treat selected brain tumors, disabling tremor and other complex neurological conditions.
Johnston-Willis Hospital today marked the groundbreaking of a $24.6 million expansion of its Neuroscience Center, an investment designed to expand access to highly precise treatments for patients with brain tumors, disabling tremor, movement disorders and other complex neurological conditions.
The expanded center will be the first such center nationally to bring together these different approaches to minimally invasive or incisionless brain treatment: Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery, which precisely directs radiation at tumors and other abnormalities in the brain; MRI-guided focused ultrasound, which uses sound waves to treat targeted brain tissue without a surgical incision.
For patients, those distinctions can mean far more than new equipment. They can mean another treatment option when medication no longer adequately controls a disabling tremor, or a highly targeted approach to brain tumors that can help extend quality of life for cancer patients.
“When we talk about precision neuroscience, we’re really talking about helping someone write their name, eat dinner with their family, continue working or play with their grandchildren,” said K. Singh Sahni, MD, FACS, chairman of neuroscience and medical director of the Neuroscience Center. “The technology is remarkable, but what matters is what that technology can give back to a patient. This investment will allow us to build on more than two decades of experience and continue expanding the treatment options available to patients with complex neurological conditions.”
The impact behind the technology
For Richmond-area bank manager Robert “Bobby” Young, 58, the significance of one of those technologies can be measured in something as simple as writing his name.
Young lived for years with essential tremor that eventually affected nearly every part of his daily life. He needed two hands to drink from a glass, struggled to keep food on a fork and had difficulty using a computer mouse, typing and texting. At work, the visible tremor made him self-conscious during meetings and presentations. He sometimes avoided restaurants and business lunches because eating in public had become embarrassing.
After medications no longer adequately controlled his symptoms, Young underwent MRI-guided focused ultrasound with Sahni at Johnston-Willis.
The incisionless procedure uses focused sound waves and real-time MRI imaging to precisely treat an area deep within the brain responsible for tremor. The effect for Young was visible immediately. While he was still in the MRI suite following treatment, the team asked him to write his name.
“I cried like a baby,” Young said.
Today, Young says he can use a computer mouse, type, text and eat more comfortably in public. He can also color, play trucks and sit down for games with his grandchildren without making excuses to step away.
“Every little morsel of my life has been affected in a positive way,” Young said. “It was life-changing for me. I’m not embarrassed anymore.”
Meeting a growing need for advanced neurological care
Young is one patient, but the conditions treated through advanced neuroscience programs affect millions of Americans.
More than 1.1 million Americans are living with Parkinson’s disease, with nearly 90,000 new diagnoses each year and prevalence projected to reach 1.2 million by 2030. Essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders and becomes substantially more prevalent with age.
The need extends beyond movement disorders.
Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery can be used for selected patients with brain metastases, primary and benign brain tumors, meningiomas, acoustic neuromas, pituitary tumors, vascular abnormalities and trigeminal neuralgia. For patients with breast cancer, lung cancer and other cancers that have metastasized to the brain, Gamma Knife can provide a highly targeted treatment option aimed at controlling disease while preserving quality of life. Gamma Knife does not involve a surgical knife or incision. Instead, multiple highly focused beams of radiation converge on a precise target while limiting exposure to surrounding brain tissue.
Brain metastases — cancer that has spread to the brain from elsewhere in the body — are an increasingly important challenge as advances in cancer treatment help patients live longer. For physicians and patients, the goal is not simply controlling disease, but doing so while preserving brain function, independence and quality of life whenever possible.
“This investment reflects where neuroscience is going — toward greater precision, more sophisticated imaging and less invasive treatment options for patients,” said Beth Matish, CEO of Johnston-Willis Hospital. “We have the physician expertise and experience to build on these advances and this investment is about giving our clinical teams the technology, imaging capacity and environment they need to continue advancing care while helping patients access highly specialized treatment closer to home.”
Building on a history of neuroscience firsts
Johnston-Willis established its Gamma Knife program in 2004, the first in Central Virginia. The program has since surpassed 6,000 procedures, placing Johnston-Willis among a small group of U.S. centers to reach that milestone.
In 2011, Johnston-Willis became the first hospital in the United States to receive The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for brain tumor care.
Johnston-Willis later became the first private institution to use MRI-guided focused ultrasound for essential tremor. The hospital currently offers focused ultrasound for appropriate patients with essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson’s disease.
$24.6 million investment in technology, imaging and patient experience
The expansion includes additional treatment rooms and a complete renovation of the existing department, along with replacement of the hospital’s Gamma Knife and MRI-guided focused-ultrasound systems with new technology.
The dedicated MRI represents more than additional diagnostic imaging capacity. MRI is integral to several treatments offered through the center. Focused ultrasound uses MRI during treatment to precisely target tissue and monitor the procedure in real time.
Johnston-Willis plans to increase MRI staffing to support the new scanner. Same-day MRI for patients undergoing brain tumor treatment can enhance physicians’ ability to detect and precisely target tumors.
Construction began in early October, with fencing installed at the project site Oct. 5-8. The Oct. 29 groundbreaking ceremony marks the hospital’s formal celebration of the project. Construction is expected to take up to 10 months, with completion anticipated in summer 2027.
The expansion represents the next chapter for a neuroscience program built around a simple goal: bringing increasingly precise treatment options to patients facing some of the most complex conditions affecting the brain.
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