Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian recently became the first hospital in California to implant the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recently approved Percept™ PC Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) system in a patient for Parkinson’s disease. This DBS system detects patient-specific brain signals and provides instant feedback to optimize real-time therapy for patients with movement disorders.
Christopher Duma, M.D., F.A.C.S, medical director of the Brain Tumor Program at Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute, implanted the Percept PC neurostimulator with BrainSense™ technology from Medtronic into the brain of a patient on July 13, 2020. This newest evolution of the technology allows physicians to continuously record patient brain signals and correlate these with patient-recorded experiences, such as symptom onset and fluctuation, medication intake and side effects. This provides much more personalized, data-driven neurostimulation management for patients with neurologic disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and even epilepsy.
Shortly after DBS was approved by the FDA in 1997, the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute’s Movement Disorders Program became one of the first in the country to adopt this advanced therapy for Parkinson’s disease, which uses a small pacemaker-like device that sends radio wave signals to a targeted area in the brain. Since then, Dr. Duma has implanted DBS in more than 800 patients, making the Institute’s Movement Disorders Program a leader in the field of Parkinson’s disease therapy. The program’s innovative approach, combined with Dr. Duma’s longstanding experience with some of the highest annual volumes in Southern California, puts the Institute’s Movement Disorders Program at the forefront of cutting-edge medicine.
“The Percept BrainSense is a game changer for neuromodulation. We can now tailor therapy to each patient’s needs based on direct feedback from brain activity,” Dr. Duma said. “This is yet another great example of Hoag’s commitment to leading the advances in patient care.”
In addition to offering minimally invasive surgical treatment for Parkinson’s disease, the Movement Disorders Program specializes in patient evaluation, advanced medical therapy, clinical trials and community support groups throughout Orange County. The multidisciplinary movement disorders team of specialists takes a comprehensive approach to care, meeting regularly to discuss the best treatment options available for each patient. As the mission statement of Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute states: compassionate care, clinical excellence and creative intelligence.
“We are excited to be one of the first to use this innovative DBS system to help treat patients with Parkinson’s disease,” said Sandeep Thakkar, D.O., movement disorders neurologist. “This new personalized therapy is the result of a research collaboration between our movement disorders program and Medtronic to bring practical and clinical insights to product development. The Percept BrainSense has transformed the standard of care for patients with Parkinson’s disease while greatly improving their quality of life. Our ability to monitor the patient’s brain activities in real time can reduce the number of visits to the clinic – especially welcome during this pandemic.”
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