Following the appearance of several promising reports in the medical literature, the use of pallidotomy and thalamotomy for treatment of Parkinson's Disease-related movement disorders has steadily increased in the past few years. The resurgence in these two neurosurgical techniques can be attributed to a better understanding of basal ganglia pathophysiology and development of more reliable and accurate stereotactic, microlesioning, and brain mapping techniques. Our goal is to build and test an intracranial microelectrode system which incorporates three key components: (1) a trimodal (i.e., recording, stimulation, lesion) microelectrode coated with biocompatible insulating materials, (2) appropriate electronics for the control of the trimodal microelectrode, and (3) micropositioning elements. By combining recording, stimulation and lesioning functions with bio- compatible technology and materials, the trimodal microrelectrodes will access target brain areas with less damage to healthy tissue. Micro- electrode function will be simplified by integrating each mode into a single control module. The system will include custom-designed micropositioners. This approach will provide a degree of safety, accuracy and facility not currently available by simplifying surgical mapping calculations and minimizing component switching error. Offering all these features in a single package will allow its pricing to be very competitive and make its clinical use more cost effective.
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