{"id":81594,"date":"2025-11-06T12:51:54","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T19:51:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=81594"},"modified":"2025-11-07T05:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T12:47:13","slug":"north-americas-first-adaptive-deep-brain-stimulation-system-for-parkinsons-goes-live-at-uchealth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/north-americas-first-adaptive-deep-brain-stimulation-system-for-parkinsons-goes-live-at-uchealth\/","title":{"rendered":"Patient pioneers an innovative adaptive brain stimulation device for Parkinson’s"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"A
A patient named Kate Goes in Center shows off her fine motor skills at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. On March 21, 2025, she became the first patient in North America to use FDA-approved adaptive deep brain stimulation (DBS) technology for Parkinson’s. With Kate is PhD clinical neuropsychologist John Thompson, who helped make the pathbreaking innovation possible. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is like a pacemaker for the brain.<\/p>\n

Doctors implant one or two electrodes into structures deep in the brain in a minimally invasive procedure. Pulses of electricity, delivered by a battery-powered pulse generator implanted below the collarbone, then transmit the equivalent of white noise to drown out harmful signals from clumps of thousands of damaged neurons.<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s no cure for Parkinson\u2019s disease<\/a>, medications and DBS can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life for the roughly one million people in the United States who have been diagnosed with the disease. DBS can quell tremor, boost slow movement (called bradykinesia), and ease rigidity \u2013 all Parkinson\u2019s hallmarks.<\/p>\n

DBS has been life-changing for many since its approval for Parkinson\u2019s back in 2002. That\u2019s despite what now looks like a shortcoming: DBS has operated much like a car with a handful of preset speeds despite neurological environments that can range from stop-and-go traffic to long trips along lonely interstates.<\/p>\n

The mismatch between the brain\u2019s operating environment and DBS stimulation can bring dyskinesia \u2013 uncontrolled muscle movements \u2013 if the DBS pulses are too potent, or slow movement and stiffness if they aren\u2019t stimulating enough. That’s why experts have developed a new form of DBS, which is known as adaptive DBS or aDBS.<\/p>\n

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved aDBS earlier this year.<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Dr.
Dr. Drew Kern, left, points out harmful spikes in brain signals being detected by the aDBS electrodes implanted in Kate\u2019s brain during her visit on March 21, 2025. The aDBS system counters those signals with electrical pulses that act like white noise to mute their effects. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Monopolar sensing and adaptive DBS hit the streets<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Of course, it\u2019s a lot harder to measure and characterize specific frequencies of brain activity \u2013 measured in thousandths of an ampere amid the constant electrical activity typically happening between the ears \u2013 than it is to check a car’s speedometer. A team of University of Colorado School of Medicine neurologists managed to do exactly that, and their work (called electrode identifier or monopolar sensing) proved fundamental to developing aDBS.<\/p>\n

Monopolar sensing helps the clinician identify the best spot in the brain to stimulate, which is important for applying aDBS that can dynamically adjust the power and duration of its white-noise pulses based on the potency of those harmful brain signals.<\/p>\n

The system rolled out at 23 U.S. medical centers on March 24, 2025, with many more centers to follow.<\/p>\n

\"An
An avid runner, Kate was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease in 2019. She volunteered to become the first patient in North America following FDA approval to receive new history-making technology that helps reduce challenging symptoms for Parkinson’s patients. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a> on the Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a> were counted among those first institutions. As a nod to the pathbreaking work<\/a> of University of Colorado School of Medicine movement disorders neurologist Dr. Drew Kern<\/a> and his colleague and PhD clinical neuropsychologist John Thompson<\/a>, UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital became the first institution in North America to turn on aDBS as an FDA-approved treatment on March 21, 2025.<\/p>\n

North America’s first adaptive deep brain stimulation system for Parkinson’s goes live at UCHealth<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A patient named Kate Goes In Center, 75, of Denver, volunteered to be the first patient. The retired software engineer arrived at the UCHealth media center just before noon on March 21, with partner David Julie. Several TV cameras had awaited her. Her trim frame hinted at her decades as an avid runner. In 2019, she was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease. Continued exercise and medications kept her symptoms manageable for a few years, but by mid-2023, she opted for DBS, which CU School of Medicine neurosurgeon Dr. Steven Ojemann<\/a> implanted. Kate opted for a Medtronic device that included electrodes with sensors capable of detecting the brain\u2019s electrical activity as well as delivering DBS pulses.<\/p>\n

\"The
The aDBS milestone at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital attracted significant media attention. Roughly 40,000 people worldwide already have aDBS-compatible systems implanted; six patients were scheduled to have their aDBS-capable hardware programmed at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital the Monday after Kate\u2019s pioneering turn. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While research on ways to use such sensors to customize DBS based on the user\u2019s state of mind had been ongoing, there were no applications yet for patients like Kate.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was not getting consistent control of her symptoms with medication, and so Dr. Kern suggested DBS,\u201d David said. \u201cShe thought about it for close to a year, and decided to do it. She considered different vendors, and she liked this one because it has sensing, and it had the future potential for adapting the stimulation, and so that was why she chose it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out to have been a good bet. Groups around the world were working on<\/a> various aspects of aDBS, including Kern\u2019s and Thompson\u2019s, which had been researching monopolar sensing for two years at that point already.<\/p>\n

Kate showed up unmedicated as requested, but with her DBS operating as it had for close to two years \u2014 in one of four steady settings that she could choose from via a mobile app. The settings, as well as the upper and lower boundaries of each, had been established through hours of setup and refinement with Kern and colleagues in the clinic.<\/p>\n

\"Kate
Kate receives support from Dr. Drew Kern, right, and her partner, David Julie, left. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

aDBS is like a pacemaker for the brain<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kern draped what looked like a short, navy-blue scarf with a pocket on each end around Kate\u2019s neck. Thompson slid a wireless device into the pocket above Kate\u2019s implanted pulse generator and, via a tablet, instructed the pulse generator to stop the continuous DBS (cDBS).<\/p>\n

Kate\u2019s chin tremor, which makes it hard for her to talk and swallow, launched, as did tremors in her left hand and leg. Finger taps, foot stomps, a short walk, and other physical tests Kern administered demonstrated stiffness and slowness of movement.<\/p>\n

With a few taps, aDBS kicked into gear. It involved a baseline of pulse stimulation and then greater stimulation when a certain frequency corresponding to the bad signals from deep in Kate\u2019s brain (beta waves from 13 to 30 Hertz from the subthalamic nucleus, or STN) spiked. Her tremors ceased, her fingers tapped quickly, her feet stomped hard, and she could walk easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour brain is telling this device what to do \u2013 when you need it and when you don\u2019t need it,\u201d Kern told her.<\/p>\n

Someone asked Kate how she was feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot better than when I came in,\u201d she said, her voice stronger than before.<\/p>\n

\"From
From left: Dr. Drew Kern, Kate Goes in Center and John Thompson, PhD. On March 21, 2025, Kate became the first patient in North America following FDA approval to receive a pioneering new system to help tame her Parkinson’s symptoms. Kern and Thompson’s research on electrode identification\/monopolar sensing was fundamental to the system\u2019s development. Photo by Cyrus McCrimmon for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Only the beginning for promising aDBS technology<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Kern and Thompson emphasized that it\u2019s still early days for aDBS. There are other malign brain frequencies that aDBS could potentially sense and counteract in the future. There\u2019s contextual information that could come into play in programming and adjusting the devices, such as patterns of the patient\u2019s daily living and symptom profile that other devices may detect, Thompson said. There are ongoing investigations on how aDBS could improve sleep and gait among Parkinson\u2019s patients.<\/p>\n

It’s already clear that the monopolar sensing Kern, Thompson and CU School of Medicine colleagues pioneered has the potential to make huge difference in how quickly DBS can be programmed and adjusted. They\u2019ve reported<\/a> that monopolar sensing\u2019s ability to inform DBS programming with real-time brain activity cut initial programming time from an average of more than two hours to just 18 minutes \u2013 and with more precision.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better than I can get done in a clinical setting,\u201d Kern said.<\/p>\n

He says that combining that sort of efficiency boost with aDBS\u2019s ability to reduce medication needs by what Kern estimates to be 50% to 75% could sharply lower the ongoing cost of Parkinson\u2019s care.<\/p>\n

Kate\u2019s partner David said the couple is hopeful that aDBS makes a difference \u201cbecause her symptoms changed so much from minute to minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last few years, because of Parkinson\u2019s, there\u2019s been so much change in what she can do,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, you know, we have two grandsons that we want to see and play with, and hopefully, this will make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate added that the challenges of Parkinson\u2019s had, at one point, pushed her to the point of giving up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis really makes a difference. I feel like I can do anything,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gives me hope.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deep brain stimulation, or DBS, is like a pacemaker for the brain. Doctors implant one or two electrodes into structures deep in the brain in a minimally invasive procedure. Pulses of electricity, delivered by a battery-powered pulse generator implanted below the collarbone, then transmit the equivalent of white noise to drown out harmful signals from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":81610,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[563,184,4624,750],"class_list":["post-81594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-innovative-care","category-news","tag-deep-brain-stimulation","tag-neurology","tag-neurosciences-outcomes","tag-parkinsons-disease"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPatient pioneers an innovative adaptive brain stimulation device for Parkinson's - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"While there\u2019s no cure for Parkinson\u2019s, deep brain stimulation can reduce tremors. 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