A Yonsei research team recently found a promising method for alleviating the anxiety-related symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by using ultrasonography (USG). The research team, led by Professor Kim Chan-hyung (Department of Neuropsychiatry) and Professor Chang Jin-woo (Department of Neurosurgery), made the first attempts to treat OCD by projecting ultrasonic waves onto a patient’s brain. The application of USG succeeded in blocking the neural circuit in the cerebrum thought to be responsible for the intrusive thoughts and compulsive behavior that characterize this anxiety disorder. While previous attempts to treat OCD have involved psychosurgery and the implantation of electrical stimulation devices in the brain, this experiment was the first to use the noninvasive and precisely-targeted USG to treat the disorder. The first USG procedure was done on a female patient with severe OCD. This woman had a phobia of bacteria, which resulted in frequent hand-washing and obsessive behavior such as cleaning doorknobs before touching them and spreading A4 paper across the floor of her room to make sure no one contaminated it with dust and germs. Although she fully realized that her behavior was obsessive, she could not bear the anxiety that resulted when she failed to follow these practices. Her condition was extreme, rating a 38 on the 40-point scale of OCD, and she did not respond to treatments with anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications. Ultimately, her anxiety related to the fear of contamination prevented her from having a social life, which resulted in severe depression. The brain USG device used by the Yonsei research team was developed by Insightec Ltd., a medical venture located in Israel. Using this USG device, researchers located the targeted neural circuit through an MRI, and projected ultrasonic waves onto the patient’s brain. While these waves cannot normally pass through the bones of the cranium, the USG device simultaneously projects ultrasonic waves from 1024 locations, producing a greater level of heat which, as the theory goes, results in greater brain stimulation. After a month of USG treatment, the patient visited Severance hospital to meet Professor Kim Chan-hyung. He was pleasantly surprised to find her expression and demeanor much livelier than before. In the past, the anxiety caused by her OCD made her appear restless, and she had difficulty maintaining eye contact. The change in her appearance was also reflected in the numbers: her depression score returned to normal, while her obsession score decreased by five points. While he was delighted with the patient’s results, Professor Chang warned against being overly-enthusiastic: “At this clinical test stage, the brain USG has only been applied to two patients, so we need to take these promising outcomes in stride.” “The procedure,” he added, “will be applied to a larger number of Severance Hospital patients, which, we hope, will demonstrate the effectiveness of this treatment on a large scale.”