29 Jun Refined Deep Brain Stimulation Turns On ‘As Needed’ To Treat Tremors
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Prof. Chizeck
Howard Jay Chizeck ScD
Professor, Electrical Engineering
Adjunct Professor, Bioengineering
Co-Director UW Biorobotics Laboratory
Graduate Program in Neuroscience
UW CoMotion Presidential Innovation Fellow
Research Thrust Testbed Co-Leader
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Essential Tremor is treated using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in some patients. Current clinical practice involves Deep Brain Stimulation with an “always on” stimulation. This causes extra battery drain, because stimulation is applied when not needed. Also excessive stimulation is not necessarily a good thing,
Our work is aimed at adjusting the stimulation, so that it comes on and turns off only when needed to suppress tremor symptoms.
MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Response: The combination of existing Deep Brain Stimulation systems with algorithms automatically provide stimulation only when needed has the potential to provide better results for the patient, including less side effects–in addition to preserving battery lifetime in the implanted device.
MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: This approach is also being developed, in several labs, for aspects of Parkinson’s Disease and other disorders. The key thing is to determine the biomarkers that indicate the need to turn stimulation on and off. These may be somewhat different for each individual, and they will likely change over time as disease progresses.
Disclosure: This work has been supported by the NSF Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering, as well as a donation from Medtronic Inc. It was not directed by Medtronic, however, and the experimental setup we used is investigational, and not currently approved or available outside of our study.
MedicalResearch.com: Thank you for your contribution to the MedicalResearch.com community.
Citation:
Cortical brain computer interface for closed-loop deep brain stimulation.
Herron J, Thompson M, Brown T, Chizeck H, Ojemann J, Ko A.
Note: Content is Not intended as medical advice. Please consult your health care provider regarding your specific medical condition and questions.
Last Updated on June 29, 2017 by Marie Benz MD FAAD