Vanderbilt University Medical Center neurosurgeons and neurologists will be online live on Wednesday, May 28, hosting a one-hour Webcast to demonstrate a four-stage innovative technique used for deep brain stimulation (DBS). The event can be seen at 4 p.m. CDT at http://www.or-live.com/Vanderbilt/2319/. Deep brain stimulation therapy utilizes an implantable neuro-stimulator to treat movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia.
Tens of thousands of people, who experience movement disorders associated with Parkinson’s disease and a variety of other neurological conditions, stand to benefit from a new guidance system developed by Vanderbilt researchers that uses computerized brain-mapping techniques to significantly improve DBS surgery.
DBS has proven to be highly effective in the treatment of movement disorders when standard drug therapies either do not work or have lost effectiveness.
Peter Konrad, M.D., associate professor of Neurosurgery, along with Vanderbilt biomedical engineers, have also pioneered the use of a computer-aided system from planning to intra-operative guidance for the placement of DBS electrodes. This system is used to analyze the brain’s electrophysiological information to resolve structures not visible in anatomic images, thus improving both preoperative and intra-operative guidance.
Vanderbilt neurosurgeons Konrad and Joseph Neimat will be joined by neurologists Tom Davis and Fenna Phibbs for an hour-long live Webcast demonstrating the four stages of this innovative procedure.
WHAT: Vanderbilt surgeons host live surgical Webcast to demonstrate the latest techniques in deep brain stimulation to treat neurologic disorders
WHEN: 4-5 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, May 28
WHERE: http://www.or-live.com/Vanderbilt/2319/
Media Contact: John Howser (615) 322-4747
john.howser@vanderbilt.edu
