Stentrode developed for brain treatments without major surgery

Australian researchers have developed a tiny device that electrically stimulates the brain and could one day be used to treat conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease without invasive surgery. They have shown for the first time that electrical stimulation can be delivered into the brain from a 4 mm diameter Stentrode permanently implanted inside a blood vessel. This technology opens the door for a range of potential treatments that have traditionally required open brain surgery, including deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
Deep brain stimulation requires open brain surgery with an electrode implanted via burr hole surgery, where one or more holes are drilled in the skull so the electrodes can penetrate the brain. The Stentrode can place electrodes in the brain via blood vessels through a vein in the neck. The work builds on previous research that showed the Stentrode? could be used to record brain signals, with the potential to control an exoskeleton in patients with paralysis. This study now shows the Stentrode? can also deliver targeted stimulation.