Brain Stimulator Offers Hope for Those With Uncontrolled Epilepsy

A recently FDA-approved device has been shown to reduce seizures in patients with medication-resistant epilepsy by as much as 50 percent. Rush University Medical Center is the first in the country to use the device along with a unique electrode placement planning system. When used in conjunction with an electrode placement planning system developed by physicians at Rush, the device facilitated the complete elimination of seizures in nearly half of the implanted Rush patients enrolled in the decade-long clinical trials. Surgically placed underneath the scalp within the skull and connected to electrodes that are strategically placed, the NeuroPace RNS System uses responsive or “on-demand” direct stimulation to detect abnormal electrical activity in the brain and deliver small amounts of electrical stimulation to suppress seizures before they begin. A programmed computer chip in the skull communicates with the system to record data and to help regulate responsive stimulation. To learn more, click here.