Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

"Deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery is a therapeutic avenue for late-stage Parkinson's disease patients who do not respond anymore to standard medication (L-Dopa). The surgery consists in the insertion of an electrode in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), a millimeter-sized region of the brain known to be the major driving force of the basal ganglia. The electrodes act to saturate the electrical activity of the STNs and alleviate the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. This surgery does not cure the diseases, but instead manages its symptoms for approximately a decade, an extremely significant improvement on the quality of life of patients. The clinical outcome depends critically on the good positioning of the stimulating electrode in the dorsal region of the STN. Its accurate surgical placement is performed by measuring the local electrical neuronal activity with a smaller, less invasive measuring electrode prior to insertion of the final, larger stimulating electrode. Most importantly, the measuring electrode is first removed before the final stimulating electrode is inserted with only a coarse real-time X-ray for guidance. Our team (neurosurgeon, specialists in imaging, fibers and lasers) proposes to design, develop, test, and deliver a small optical fiber-based device compatible with commercial electrodes to provide context and cellular information to unambiguously identify the STN and its neighbouring structures during the placement of the final stimulating electrode in DBS. This will provide real-time feedback to the surgery team for better electrode placement and more benefits to the patient with less secondary side-effects."