Deep brain stimulation - Percept Neurostimulator

Deep brain stimulation, in which electrodes implanted in a person’s brain carry electrical pulses from a pacemaker-like unit implanted in the chest, has been used for more than two decades. These systems help improve motor function and decrease the need for medication which reduces the side-effects associated with these medications.
The stimulators allow doctors and patients to adjust the energy being sent to the brain to improve patients’ movement and reduce tremor, said Dr. Andrew Ko, a UW Medicine neurosurgeon. While this treatment is safe and effective, the interaction between the device and the brain has been one-way. Major adjustments made to the stimulator must be done by a doctor in clinic, based on trial and error.
The manufacturer Medtronic recently received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval to distribute a new neurostimulator that can simultaneously stimulate and record signals from the brain.
“It gives us more information about the effects of stimulation on the patient's brain. This data can help us refine the treatment,” Ko said.
In Seattle, the device saw its first deployment July 8, when Ko implanted one in a man who had to be hospitalized at UW Medicine because of his inability to move or talk. The battery for his previous DBS system had run down, thereby leaving him without therapy for his Parkinson’s disease. After the replacement, he is back at his previous level of function. Medtronic confirmed it was the first such implant on the West Coast.