Brain-stimulating headwear may alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms

News

Author: Geoffrey ChangPublished: 23 June 2015

Parkinson's LifePrep: Parkinson's LifeCook: Parkinson's LifeServes:

News image

A new non-invasive, three-pronged helmet could act as an alternative for deep brain stimulation surgery (DBS).

The brain-stimulating device helps to mitigate symptoms in Parkinson’s patients by using external electrodes to send a low-level current to the motor cortex of the brain.

Unlike DBS, where electrical leads are inserted into the skull, the new device is worn on top of the head like a helmet without the need for surgery. Its developers claim it would be a cheaper, less invasive alternative to DBS, although further development is needed before it can receive FDA approval.

Still in its testing phase, the so-called STIMband headwear prototype called was designed by a team of graduate students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, US.

It is hoped that STIMband will become a user-friendly device that patients can use at home and administer themselves.

Go Back

Share this story

Comments


Related articles


Google-contact-lens

Advances

Google reveals huge plans to fight Parkinson’s

The tech giant is pumping funds into new life sciences team

READ MORE
Parkinson's in the news

Global update

Parkinson’s in the news: March

A roundup of Parkinson’s news stories in March

READ MORE
Ballet Boyz lead

Health & Fitness

“Parkinson’s is left outside – they come here to dance”

Dance delivers hope for people with Parkinson’s

READ MORE