A new miniaturized device that stimulates areas of the brain might help people with Parkinson’s disease, researchers said yesterday.
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital physician Zoe Chen (陳瓊珠) said that a Taiwanese team is developing a wearable “intelligent adaptive deep-brain stimulation system” that generates biomarkers to aid personalized therapy for people with advanced Parkinson’s.
Deep-brain stimulation involves the surgical implantation of electrodes and high-frequency electrical stimulation, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Science and Technology
However, conventional systems deliver continuous electrical stimulation, which requires a constant source of power as well as affecting the speaking ability and muscle movement of those who undergo the treatment, she said.
To improve efficiency, Chen’s team developed an adaptive stimulation system that detects signals in the brain of people with Parkinson’s disease, she said.
Identifying such signals was part of her research with Oxford University professor Peter Brown over the past 12 years, Chen said, adding that she was Brown’s student while she pursued her doctorate in the UK.
The signals that are detected are linked to symptoms such as tremors, postural instability and emotional changes, she said.
Using the signals to guide the timing and amount of stimulation, the system was found to cut electricity requirements in half and improve the therapeutic efficiency by 35 percent, she said.
As the external part of the device was bulky, Chen three years ago began work with National Chiao Tung University’s Institute of Electronics to reduce its size and make it a wearable device.
The team developed a system-on-a-chip in collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, institute professor Morris Ker (柯道明) said.
The chip has integrated analog front-end amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, digital signal processors, adjustable multi-channel electrical stimulators, wireless transmission and power management among other functions, Ker said.
The chip would be incorporated in a wirelessly charged stimulator to be implanted in the chest, he said.
The team is to start safety experiments on miniature pigs next month, and hopefully clinical trials on humans would start soon afterward, he said.
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