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Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Targeting Neuronal Fiber Tracts for Deep Brain Stimulation Therapy Using Interactive, Patient-Specific Models
Published on: August 12, 2018
Developing a Deep Brain Stimulation Neuromodulation Network for Parkinson Disease, Essential Tremor, and Dystonia:
Richard B Dewey1, Padraig E O'Suilleabhain1, Manjit Sanghera1
1Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America.
Objective:
To develop a process to improve patient outcomes from deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson disease (PD), essential tremor (ET), and dystonia.
Methods:
We employed standard quality improvement methodology using the Plan-Do-Study-Act process to improve patient selection, surgical DBS lead implantation, postoperative programming, and ongoing assessment of patient outcomes.
Results:
The result of this quality improvement process was the development of a neuromodulation network. The key aspect of this program is rigorous patient assessment of both motor and non-motor outcomes tracked longitudinally using a REDCap database. We describe how this information is used to identify problems and to initiate Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to address them. Preliminary outcomes data is presented for the cohort of PD and ET patients who have received surgery since the creation of the neuromodulation network.
Conclusions:
Careful outcomes tracking is essential to ensure quality in a complex therapeutic endeavor like DBS surgery for movement disorders. The REDCap database system is well suited to store outcomes data for the purpose of ongoing quality assurance monitoring.
