Ultra-thin brain electrodes: Lund tests a new form of deep brain stimulation in patients
Researchers at Lund University are testing soft microelectrodes thinner than a hair in humans for the first time. A video from the Faculty of Medicine shows the HDBS technology.
Photo: Einaz80 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · Faculty of Medicine Lund University · youtube.com
Brain electrodes developed at Lund University in Sweden are now being tested in patients for the first time. The system, called High Definition Brain Stimulation (HDBS), consists of 30 soft microelectrodes, each thinner than a strand of hair. The university presented the project on 15 October, and the Faculty of Medicine shows the technology in a video on its official YouTube channel.
The early feasibility study at Skåne University Hospital includes up to 12 people with Parkinson's disease and/or essential tremor who are already scheduled for standard deep brain stimulation (DBS). The microelectrodes are guided into place through channels made of gelatine, which then dissolves. Patient feedback and a 3D map of the brain are meant to help find the best position for the permanent DBS electrode. The study is supervised by neurosurgeon Hjalmar Bjartmarz (registry number NCT07820189).
The development is led by Jens Schouenborg of the Neuronano Research Center, whose group has been researching brain electrodes since 2006; the medical technology company Neuronano AB is involved. According to the university, the electrodes used in DBS today are essentially the same as those developed around 30 years ago. Animal studies showed promising results for pain and Parkinson's; in the long term, the researchers hope for applications in conditions such as dementia or insomnia.