Scientists discover new device to treat Parkinson, epilepsy
A new device that aimed at wirelessly controlling neuro-stimulator that could provide fine-tuned treatments to patients with diseases like epilepsy and Parkinson has been invented.
According to a study, scientists from University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) on the western U.S. coast invented the device.
The study was published in Nature Biomedical Engineering in the U.S, says UC Berkeley researchers worked out a wireless artefact-free neuromodulation device (WAND) that is able to listen and stimulate with an electric current in the brain at the same time.
The closed-loop device works like a “pacemaker for the brain’’ by automatically monitoring the brain’s electrical activity and delivering electrical stimulation if it detects something gone awry.
With the ability to stimulate and record simultaneously, WAND can prevent the unwanted movements of brain current by adjusting in real time the stimulation parameters on its own if it detects signs of a tremor or a seizure.
WAND outperforms previous similar devices that are effective in preventing debilitating tremors or seizures in patients with various neurological conditions.
It can take several years for doctors to constantly adjust for optimal electrical stimulation to stop extremely subtle electrical signatures preceding a seizure or a tremor.
“The process of finding the right therapy for a patient is extremely costly and can take years,’’ said Rikky Muller, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley.
NAN
