Advances in deep brain stimulation are offering a potential step forward for WA patients with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia.
Hollywood Private Hospital neurologist Dr Julian Rodrigues and neurosurgeon A/Prof Steve Lewis are adopting the latest technological innovations such as intraoperative CT, remote brain stimulator programming and directional DBS, now with sensing capability.
DBS requires surgery to implant a neurostimulator that sends electrical signals to areas of the brain responsible for movement.
Hollywood is the only site in WA using remote programming of DBS, which allows Dr Rodrigues to assess patients over live video and adjust their implanted DBS device for better symptom control allowing for treatment for patients living thousands of kilometres away.
In 2017, Hollywood was the first WA hospital to implant a directional DBS lead system which stimulates minute areas of the brain more precisely. The benefits of directional DBS include reduction in side effects from overstimulation and better symptom control.
Directional DBS electrodes capable of recording brain activity were surgically implanted into a patient at Hollywood in June last year in another first for WA.
“It essentially downloads brain signals,” Dr Rodrigues said. “By interpreting these signals, I am hopeful we can predict more specifically where to stimulate, reducing the trial and error aspect.
“The data collecting capabilities of DBS recordings have exciting prospects in terms of analysing abnormal brain rhythms and developing automated treatment algorithms using artificial intelligence.”