Closing the Loop on Tremor: A Responsive Deep Brain Stimulator for the Treatment of Essential Tremor

Essential tremor (ET) is an incurable, degenerative brain disorder that results in increasingly debilitating tremor. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is used as an effective treatment for ET, but the continuous brain stimulation provided by current DBS methods is likely unnecessary given the intermittent nature of ET symptoms, and may underlie DBS-induced side effects such as slurred speech and difficulty walking. It also may unnecessarily hasten the need for surgery to replace depleted DBS batteries. In this project, Gunduz and Foote propose to use modern DBS devices capable of recording and stimulating simultaneously, to continuously monitor brain activity and deliver stimulation only when necessary to control tremor. This work may provide proof-of-concept for the first chronic closed-loop DBS system for the treatment of a debilitating movement disorder in humans.