What Is DBS Therapy?
Activa® PC Neurostimulator
Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy for Essential Tremor is safe and effective when used for appropriate patients, and has been proven to reduce tremors associated with essential tremor.1
What It Does
Medtronic DBS Therapy delivers electrical stimulation to an area in the brain to help treat essential tremor. Electrical stimulation is used to treat tremor in an upper extremity of the body. You may be a candidate for this therapy if you have essential tremor not adequately controlled by medications and the tremor is disabling.
How It Works
DBS Therapy uses a surgically implanted medical device, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver electrical stimulation to precisely targeted areas within the brain.
Stimulation of these areas blocks the signals that cause the disabling motor symptoms of essential tremor. The electrical stimulation can be noninvasively adjusted to maximize treatment benefits. As a result, many individuals achieve greater control over their body movements.
DBS System
The DBS system is implanted inside the body and includes three major parts.
- The lead is a set of thin wires covered with a protective coating. It carries the therapy signal to the electrodes that deliver stimulation to the brain. Approximately 4 inches of the lead are implanted inside the brain. The rest of the lead (about 15 inches) is implanted under the skin of the scalp.
- The extension is a set of thin wires covered with a protective coating that connects the lead to the neurostimulator. The extension is connected to the end of the lead, just behind the ear (or where your doctor decides is the best placement). The connection point between the lead and the extension is placed under the scalp. The remaining length of the extension is placed under the skin down the neck to the upper chest area and connects to the neurostimulator. For each lead, you will have one extension.
- The neurostimulator contains the power source of your DBS system. The neurostimulator generates and controls the therapy stimulation. The neurostimulator is implanted just under the skin in the upper chest area.
These electrical pulses are delivered through the extension and lead to the targeted areas in the brain. The pulses can be adjusted wirelessly to check or change the neurostimulator settings.
Operating the System
Your clinician programs the system to manage your individual symptoms. In addition, your clinician may provide you with a small, handheld patient programmer. This programmer may allow you to adjust the system and turn it on and off by holding it for 1 or 2 seconds against the area where the neurostimulator is implanted. However in most cases, the neurostimulator is always on.
Reference
- Medtronic DBS Therapy for Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor Clinical Summary, 2009.
Information on this site should not be used as a substitute for talking with your doctor. Always talk with your doctor about diagnosis and treatment information.
- Print Page
- E-mail Page
- A
- A
- A Text Size
