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Published on: January 6, 2011
Bipolar deep brain stimulation permits routine EKG, EEG, and polysomnography
Robert C Frysinger1, Mark Quigg, W Jeffrey Elias
1Department of Neurosurgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. RFrysinger@Virginia.edu
Neurology
|January 26, 2006
Summary
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can cause significant artifact in electrophysiologic tests like EKG and EEG. Monopolar stimulation creates artifact, but bipolar stimulation does not, offering a solution for testing aging DBS patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Engineering
Background:
- The growing population of aging patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) necessitates reliable electrophysiologic testing.
- Deep brain stimulation (DBS) artifact can compromise the interpretability of crucial tests such as EKG, EEG, and polysomnography.
- Discontinuing DBS to avoid artifact may exacerbate symptoms, confounding diagnostic evaluations.
Observation:
- Electrophysiologic recordings were performed on patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS).
- The impact of different DBS stimulation modes on signal integrity was assessed during EKG, EEG, and polysomnography.
- Specific attention was paid to the presence and characteristics of DBS-induced artifact.
Findings:
- Monopolar deep brain stimulation (DBS) significantly interferes with electroencephalography (EEG), electrocardiography (EKG), and polysomnography (PSG).
- Bipolar deep brain stimulation (DBS) does not produce significant artifact during these electrophysiologic tests.
- This distinction is critical for maintaining test interpretability in patients with DBS.
Implications:
- Bipolar stimulation offers a method to mitigate deep brain stimulation (DBS) artifact during essential electrophysiologic monitoring.
- This finding supports the continued use of necessary diagnostic tests in aging DBS patients without compromising data quality.
- Optimizing DBS parameters can improve patient care by ensuring accurate electrophysiologic assessments.
