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.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS