Apollo Hospitals Advances Non‑Invasive Essential Tremor Research
On 18 September 2026, Apollo Hospitals announced that its Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi has become one of the earliest centres in South Asia to adopt the ZAP‑X Gyroscopic Radiosurgery System for a clinical research programme targeting severe essential tremor. The ZAP‑X system, originally used for precise brain tumour treatments, is being evaluated for its potential to treat neurological disorders without invasive surgery.
The first patient enrolled in the trial is a 66‑year‑old woman (name changed to Madhu) who first noticed subtle hand shaking about six years ago. Over time the tremor intensified, interfering with daily activities such as eating, despite medication. She became the inaugural severe essential tremor case at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals under the ZAP‑X clinical trial.
Essential tremor affects an estimated 4‑5 % of individuals over age 40, and while many achieve control with medication, a subset continues to experience disabling tremors, prompting the need for innovative, non‑invasive options.
The procedure targets a specific region on one side of the brain that controls the patient’s dominant hand. It is performed using a customised mesh mask rather than a metal headframe, does not require general anaesthesia, and typically lasts about an hour. In this case the treatment took approximately 45 minutes; the patient received pre‑procedure medication, experienced no complications, and was discharged the same day.
Five weeks post‑procedure, the patient remains under follow‑up as clinicians monitor her response. The treating team plans to assess improvement over a window of roughly six weeks to six months to determine the efficacy of the radiosurgery approach.
Dr. Sudheer Kumar Tyagi, Senior Consultant – Neuro‑surgery, emphasized that the challenge for patients with severe essential tremor is not merely tremor control but restoring hand function without invasive procedures, noting that ZAP‑X enables focused radiosurgery of the implicated brain region. Dr. Mukul Verma, Senior Consultant – Neurology, highlighted the absence of a metal frame, extensive preparation, and prolonged recovery, describing the process as a walk‑in, walk‑out experience. Dr. G. K. Jadhav, Senior Consultant – Radiation Oncology, stressed the importance of precision in brain radiosurgery and indicated that experience treating tumours informs the safe application of ZAP‑X for tremor patients.
Apollo Hospitals, founded by Dr. Prathap Reddy in 1983, now operates the world’s largest integrated healthcare platform with more than 10,400 beds across 76 hospitals, over 6,600 pharmacies, 264 clinics, 2,182 diagnostic centres, and 800+ telemedicine centres. The group has performed over 300,000 angioplasties and 200,000 surgeries, supported by a workforce of approximately 120,000 family members. This press release was distributed through Business Wire India, with PTI noting no editorial responsibility.