New DBS Remote Programming Center Established in Hunan Province

People's Daily Changsha, December 4th. DBS implantation can effectively improve limb tremor, stiffness and motor function in patients with Parkinson's disease, but adjusting the parameters requires patients to travel to the hospital in multiple times, very laborious. Through the development of remote program programming technology, patients, without going to hospital, can be remotely programmed via the internet just staying home, so that the DBS system can be adjusted to the most suitable state by doctors.

Hunan's first remote programming center for deep brain stimulation was established in Hunan Provincial Brain Hospital (Hunan Second People's Hospital). Via the equipment named as Crosspace, the brain pacemaker is connected to the TV at the patient's home. The television display screen of the programming center is video-connected with the television display screen at the patient's home, and the parameters such as the voltage, frequency and pulse width of the pacemaker in the patient's body can be adjusted.

Mr. Yin, 62, is from Shaoyang. He started to suffer from hands and feet’s tremor 8 years ago and was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Mr. Yin introduced. "Medication was effective at the beginning, but as time passed, the dose became larger and the effect became worse and worse. Later, the whole body felt stiff." In June 2018, Mr. Yin got the implantation of a pacemaker under the auspices of the Care for Patients with Parkinson's disease. After the pacemaker was installed, symptoms were better controlled.

"But after implanting a brain pacemaker, a professional doctor needs to set voltage, frequency, pulse width and other stimulation parameters according to the specific conditions of the patient to achieve the ideal therapeutic effect.", Director Huang Hongxing said. Due to Parkinson's disease, the patient's condition is relatively special, and the programming always requires the patient's relatives to accompany, and the economic cost is high, especially for remote patients, which is a great economic and spiritual burden.

On the morning of December 4, Dr Liu Bo, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Neurosurgery, Hunan Provincial Brain Hospital, conducted video communication with Mr. Yin who was at home on the display diagnosis and treatment interface of the remote programming center to observe patient’s physical response and adjust the brain pacemaker. It only took 10 minutes to complete the programming.

"As an important part of the implementation of China's health strategy, hospitals should make full use of the advantages of information, talents and resources in the field of health and continuously improve their services. Through the introduction of the Internet, the entire medical process can be coordinated online and offline.”Hu Zhaohui, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Brain Hospital, said that the hospital insists on various forms of activities such as expert lectures, patient exchanges, and on-site free consultations to popularize Parkinson's disease control knowledge. At the same time, the hospital also led the establishment of the Hunan Epilepsy and Parkinson's Special Diseases Union and the Hunan Parkinson Prevention and Care Association to provide patients with Parkinson's disease with timely, effective and safe health consultation, preventive intervention, diagnostic services and rehabilitation services.

According to statistics, the incidence of Parkinson's disease in the elderly over 65 years old is about 1.7%, and Parkinson's disease has become a major killer of middle-aged and elderly people. Dr Huang Hongxing, director of the Department of Neurosurgery, Hunan Provincial Brain Hospital, said that the current deep brain stimulation is mainly used to implant electrodes in specific nuclei of the brain. And give a certain electrical stimulation to suppress the symptoms of tremor and stiffness in Parkinson's disease, thereby improving the quality of life of patients. This technology is currently the most advanced neural regulation technology in the world. It is understood that, so far, the provincial brain hospital has completed more than 300 DBS operations.

This article is transferred from: People's Daily