Hardware Programming in the Clinical Applications of Deep Brain Stimulation

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an interventional surgical procedure used to treat an array of sensorimotor, cognitive, and psychiatric diseases originating in distinct brain regions. Although the Food and Drug Adminstration has approved DBS for the treatment of essential tremor and Parkinson disease, this technique is currently being used to treat major depression, dystonia, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Pathophysiological brain areas responsible for abnormal functions are targeted with implanted electrodes that are subsequently attached to battery packs to provide targeted electrical stimulation within the necessary parameters of stimulation required to decrease the phenotypic expressions of these debilitating diseases. DBS regularly targets the stimulation of the ventral thalamic nuclei, subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus and the basal ganglion in an attempt to diminish symptoms of tremor, Parkinson disease, Tourette syndrome, and pain. Herein, we aim to address the bioengineering that dictates the limitations of current DBS treatments, as well as the history, current use, and potential of DBS as it relates to a variety of motor and neuropsychiatric diseases. This will serve as an insightful analysis about the current landscape of DBS and its potential for more widespread applications in the clinical arena. Categories: Psychiatry, Radiology, Neurosurgery