UCSF researchers develop brain implant that responds as Parkinson’s patients move

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have taken a step toward a long-sought goal in treating Parkinson’s disease: a brain implant that can adapt to a patient’s movements in real time.

In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, UCSF scientists reported that a new form of adaptive deep brain stimulation, or DBS, helped improve walking patterns and reduce falls among a small group of people living with Parkinson’s disease. Unlike traditional DBS, which delivers a steady stream of electrical pulses, the new system continuously listens to the brain and adjusts its output as a person walks.