Brain Modeling for Patients Suffering from Parkinson's

The treatment Parkinson’s disease usually involves deep stimulation of the nuclei of the brain. The target nuclei are usually located before the procedure using high precisions MIR scans. However, during the procedure cerebral spinal fluid leaks out of the ventricles of the brain causing brain deformation. Consequently, the target nuclei may shift locations and lead inefficient treatment. In this scientific paper I came across yesterday, biomedical engineers propose a solution that will account for brain deformation in treating Parkinson’s, thus ensuring the success of the procedure. They have created a way to model the brain using biomechanical and computer engineering principles. The brain model will be specific to the patient undergoing the procedure, and will be capable of modeling the deformation of the brain in real time. Furthermore, the model can map out the exact coordinates of the target nuclei during the procedure, and therefore track their movement as the brain deforms. Therefore, surgeon guaranteed to have the exact location of target nuclei, and he can apply the electrical stimulus without damaging healthy cells. With real time modeling, the rate of success of the procedure will undoubtedly increase, and the patients will experience few side effects.

Interestingly enough, most of the biomechanical principles used for this research are equations that we are already familiar with. It’s exciting to see concepts such as deformation gradients and displacement gradients being used facilitate the treatment of Parkinson’s. This paper exemplifies the prominent effect we, as biomedical engineers, can have on the development of new medical procedures. The information we are learning today can ultimately be used to better the lives of patients in the future.

This article can found at : http://www.springerlink.com/content/mbj0upklydngqu2b/fulltext.pdf

Oscar Carrasco-Zevallos