Technologies

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurological movement disorder, affecting approximately 0.5% of the population. After prolonged treatment with medications such as levodopa, PD patients often show involuntary movements that are called dyskinesia. It can be uncomfortable, socially stigmatizing, and even dangerous over time. However, current PD medication doses are based on observations of the patient or by adhering to a schedule of times that are not customized to the situation of dyskinesia of the patient. For mid-stage PD patients who are no longer optimally improved by medications, the treatment of choice is chronic deep brain stimulation (DBS) delivered in an open loop fashion without adjustments based on the patient’s internal state or symptoms. It can also induce dyskinesia due to overstimulation. Therefore, it is critical to develop a reliable marker associated with dyskinesia to help customize medications or stimulations for individual patient.

• A robust biomarker of dyskinesia that can be reliably monitored for a year
• Provides an important brain signal that can be used to customize medication doses or create “smart” stimulation paradigms for the DBS system
• “Closes the loop” for DBS to prevent overstimulation and minimize dyskinesia