The ETZ (Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital) is the first hospital in the Netherlands to implant a new type of neurostimulator in a patient with Parkinson’s disease. The device, similar to a pacemaker, is placed under the skin near the collarbone and sends electrical signals through thin lead wires to specific areas of the brain to relieve the patient of unwanted symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
According to neurologist Thies van Asseldonk, the new Percept RC neurostimulator offers three important advantages compared to the previous model: “The device can be recharged wirelessly at lightning speed, lasts at least fifteen years and is much smaller than the previous model. It is the world’s smallest and thinnest dual-channel neurostimulator for deep brain stimulation.”
DBS
This procedure is also called deep brain stimulation (DBS). An advanced treatment method in which two electrodes are placed in the brain that emit electrical signals. The electrodes are controlled by a subcutaneous battery, the neurostimulator. Van Asseldonk: “Because the Percept RC does not have to be replaced every three years, this is very friendly to patients. In addition, the charging time is short; in less than one hour the capacity is back to ninety percent.”
Special
What also makes the Percept RC neurostimulator special is that the electrodes not only stimulate the brain but also record information, via BrainSense technology. This allows the treating neurologist to optimize the treatment using this information. The therapy is now tailored to the complaints, visible symptoms, side effects and medication intake reported by patients. Neurologists will soon be able to combine this information with the registered personal brain signals. “This can provide even faster and better treatment effects for patients,” Van Asseldonk is firmly convinced.
Big difference
The first Percept RC neurostimulator was placed by neurosurgeon Geert-Jan Rutten on Mrs. Astrid Hennissen (60). The specialist looks back on the two-hour operation with a good feeling: “For the operating team it is the same procedure as for the other battery. But it is a big difference for the patient, because the device is considerably smaller. It is a nice innovation, with all available functionalities in one device. By applying DBS, Parkinson’s patients require less medication and have fewer fluctuations in symptoms during the day. This allows them to plan their active lives better.”
Technical tour de force
After her operation, Astrid Hennissen spent one night in the hospital for observation, and was allowed to go home the next morning. The neurostimulator is scheduled to be adjusted two weeks after the procedure. In close consultation with Geert-Jan Rutten, she consciously chose the new device. “After the explanation, I understood that it is a technical tour de force, with the ability to read brain signals. That appealed to me enormously. Moreover, as the first patient, I am monitored extra closely,” she adds with a smile. “I have been walking very poorly in recent months. When the medication wore off, I sat in the chair like a rag doll. With the neurostimulator I expect the tremor will decrease and my mobility will improve.”
2024-01-02 08:53:33
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