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Our Purpose

Pitch





Neurological Movement Disorders

The rampant discharge of control signals in the brain causes neurological movement disorders that deteriorate one’s quality of life. Such disorders include Parkinson’s Disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia. Symptoms such as uncontrolled shaking and loss of coordination when walking can make daily tasks difficult.

                       An estimated 10 million Americans, 3% of the US population, are struggling with essential tremor.1

                       Approximately 60,000 Americans diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease each year.2

                       Roughly 250,000 cases of Dystonia in the United States.3

Currently there are no cures for such neurological movement disorders. However, there are treatments available that can alleviate the severity of these disorders. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is one such clinically approved treatment.


Deep Brain Simulation

DBS devices function by delivering targeted electrical stimulations to regions in the brain responsible for controlling movement, overpowering the abnormal signals. DBS devices consist of a battery pack or Implanted Pulse Generator that is inserted into the chest of the patient, as well as an electrode that must be strategically placed into the basal ganglia within the brain.

  • Implanted Pulse Generator

  •                       Lead

  •                  Electrode

The exact target structure of the brain where the electrode must be placed is dependent on the clinical condition being treated.

                       For Parkinson’s Disease the electrode must be placed in the Thalamic Nucleus.

                       For Dystonia the electrode must be placed in the Globus Pallidus.

A sensor on the electrode connected to a signal transducer allows the surgeon to determine the location of the electrode. Neurons in varying locations of the brain produce different electrical signals, which can be converted into sound and played out loud. Surgeons are trained to recognize the sounds to deduce where their electrode is going.



Clinical Need

The efficacy of such treatment is entirely dependent on proper DBS electrode placement. This is a challenging feat to accomplish, due to the lack of resources that would give physicians sufficient practice to comfortably carry out this procedure in a real operating room. Current training regimens only include computer simulations, lectures, and watching live surgeries carried out by professionals with more years of hands-on experience, which are less viable compared to having a realistic hands-on demonstration. We've created a physical model of the brain, the DBS Learner, that allows students and physicians to more accurately visualize and practice procedures involving deep brain stimulation.