A blog about what is new (and old) in the world of active implantable medical devices

Category Archives: Brain Stimulation

Active implantable medical devices for brain stimulation

Boston Scientific Receives CE Mark of Vercise™ Deep Brain Stimulation System

Posted on by Posted in Boston Scientific, Brain Stimulation, Neural Stimulation, Parkinson's Disease
Boston Scientific Vercise DBS System www.implantable-device.com David Prutchi, Ph.D.

Image Credit: Boston Scientific

Boston Scientific Corporation received CE Mark approval for use of its Vercise™ Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The Vercise DBS System is the first and only commercially available DBS system to incorporate multiple independent current control, which is designed to selectively stimulate targeted areas in the brain. This system is an innovative technology that is designed to provide physicians fine control of stimulation.

Continue reading→

Monash University in Australia Starts Test of Direct-to-Brain Visual Prosthesis Chips

Posted on by Posted in Blindness, Brain Stimulation, Electrode Materials, News, Tech Talk, Ultra-Low-Power ICs
Implantable chip for direct-to-brain visual prosthesis developed by Monash University. www.implantable-device.com

Image Credit: Monash Vision Group, Monash University, Australia

Engineers from the Monash Vision Group (MVG) have begun trialling the ASICs for a direct-to-brain visual prosthesis that is expected to enter human clinical trials in 2014.

The prosthesis will consist of a tiny camera mounted into a pair of glasses, which acts as the retina; a pocket processor, which takes the electronic information from the camera and converts it into signals enabling the brain to build up a visual construct; and cortical implants of several tiles which will be the portal for the stimulation of the visual cortex. Continue reading→

John Hopkins Researcher Develops New Early-Warning Seizures Detector with Low False-Positive Rate

Posted on by Posted in Brain Stimulation, Epilepsy, News, Tech Talk

Johns Hopkins’ Sridevi V. Sarma, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering, has devised new seizure detection software that, in early testing, significantly cuts the number of unneeded brain-stimulation therapy that an epilepsy patient would receive.

According to Sarma, “These devices use algorithms—a series of mathematical steps—to figure out when to administer the treatment,” Sarma said. “They’re very good at detecting when a seizure is about to happen, but they also produce lots of false positives, sometimes hundreds in one day. If you introduce electric current to the brain too often, we don’t know what the health impacts might be. Also, too many false alarms can shorten the life of the battery that powers the device, which must be replaced surgically.” Continue reading→

Neuromed’s TIME Battery- and RF-Powered Totally Implantable Multichannel Spinal Cord Stimulator (ca. 1988)

Posted on by Posted in Advanced Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), Brain Stimulation, Epilepsy, History, Museum, Neuromed (1980-1995), Pain, Parkinson's Disease, Spinal Cord Stimulation, St. Jude Medical, Wireless Power Transmission
Neuromed dual-power multichannel neurostimulator 1988

Neuromed TIME IPG on loan from Daniel Villamil's collection.

Neuromed was formed in 1980 with an initial capitalization of $150,000 by Bill Borkan through money obtained when Borkan`s parents took out a second mortgage on their home. Borkan’s desire to help his sister, Jennie, a cerebral palsy patient, got him started in neurostimulation technology. In the next few years, Neuromed developed and marketed a RF-powered implantable spinal cord stimulator, along with its external radio frequency transmitter.

Throughout the 1980s, development of more advanced devices was ongoing at Neuromed. My friend Daniel Villamil from CCC Medical has in his collection one of these more modern units, which he lent to me for photographing. The “Total Implantable Multichannel Electronics” (TIME) spinal cord stimulator shown in this picture went into clinical trials around 1988. This was a device that was internally powered by its own battery. However, it could also be RF-powered after the eventual battery failure. Continue reading→

St. Jude’s DBS Study Confirms Benefit of Constant Current System for Parkinson’s Disease

Posted on by Posted in Brain Stimulation, Parkinson's Disease, St. Jude Medical
SJM Libra and Libra XP deep-brain neurostimulators to treat Parkinson's disease
Image Credit: St. Jude Medical

Today St. Jude announced that its first controlled study of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) confirms benefit of constant current system for patients with Parkinson’s Disease.

Results were published online today by The Lancet Neurology journal. The aim of the study was to evaluate the Libra(TM) and LibraXP(TM) DBS constant current systems to determine the devices’ safety and effectiveness in managing the symptoms of PD. Continue reading→

Biotectix

Posted on by Posted in Biotectix, Brain Stimulation, Cardiac Pacing, Electrode Materials, Electrodes, Tech Talk
Biotectix electrically conductive polymers for implantable devices
Image Credit: Biotectix

Biotectix of Ann Arbor, MI recently contacted me to let me know of new conductive polymer materials that they are developing to enhance the performance of next-gen implantable stimulation and sensing devices.

Indeed, their materials sound very promising.  According to Biotectix, their electrode coatings and device components are made from proprietary conducting polymers that provide intimate, long-term electrical and biological connections between implantable electrodes and the target tissue.  They offer the conductivity and stability of metals at a low-cost with the ease of processing and biological functionality of polymers. Continue reading→

Northstar Neuroscience’s Renova Cortical Stimulation System (1999-2009)

Posted on by Posted in Brain Stimulation, Museum, Northstar Neuroscience (1999-2009), Stroke

Northstar's Renova Implantable Stimulator for the Treatment of Stroke

Northstar was founded in 1999 as Vertis Neuroscience headquartered in Seattle, WA, and the original goal was to develop electrical stimulation for chronic back pain.  In 2003, under its new name, Northstar Neuroscience, then developed the Renova cortical stimulation system to deliver targeted electrical stimulation to the brain cortex as a treatment for stroke-related upper extremity. Continue reading→