Investigation of a Deep Brain Stimulator (DBS) System.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Materials Science

Background:

• Deep brain stimulators (DBS) treat movement disorders by delivering electrical impulses to the brain.
• Exposure of DBS leads and extension wires to the biological environment can cause damage, affecting impedance and battery life, leading to poor clinical outcomes.
• Similarities in insulation and lead materials between DBS and cardiac pacemakers suggest shared degradation mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify in vivo damage to explanted deep brain stimulator (DBS) components.
• To develop a model for predicting the in vivo duration of DBS leads based on mechanical property testing.
• To establish a proof of concept for using posthumously extracted pacemaker data to estimate DBS lead lifespan.

Main Methods:

• Visual inspection and optical microscopy of a posthumously extracted DBS device.
• Electrical and mechanical testing of DBS leads and extension wires.
• Multiple regression analyses using mechanical property data from prior pacemaker research to estimate in vivo duration.

Main Results:

• The implantable pulse generator (IPG) leads exhibited cracks, delamination, exfoliations, and breakage.
• Measurements showed distortion and stretching of extension coils, indicating in vivo changes.
• The developed model estimated the in vivo duration of the DBS device based on mechanical property regressions.

Conclusions:

• In vivo exposure causes mechanical damage to DBS components, altering impedance and potentially reducing treatment effectiveness.
• Mechanical property testing of explanted DBS and pacemaker leads can predict device lifespan.
• The proposed model offers a method to estimate the functional duration of DBS leads, aiding in predicting mechanical failure.