April 10, 2023

World’s First Minimally Invasive Brain Pacemaker Reduces Seizures in Epileptic Patients

Article published by HospiMedica 

Epilepsy is among the most prevalent neurologic disorders and affects around 1% of the global population. Despite the availability of new antiseizure medications (ASMs), over a third of epilepsy patients fail to respond to drug therapy, particularly those with focal epilepsy, and many are not candidates for epilepsy surgery. Therefore, alternative treatment strategies are necessary. Focused cortical stimulation is an innovative procedure that provides a novel approach to treating epileptic seizures and favorably influencing the course of the disease for patients with inoperable forms of focal epilepsy. Now, the world’s first minimally invasive brain pacemaker utilizes a pioneering procedure that uses subcutaneous electrodes positioned outside the cranium to suppress epileptic seizures in patients with focal epilepsy that is resistant to drug therapy.

Precisis GmbH (Heidelberg, Germany) has developed EASEE (Epicranial Application of Stimulation Electrodes for Epilepsy), a system for individualized brain stimulation, which is implanted under the scalp, specifically over the epileptic focus in the brain, without opening the cranial bone or touching the brain tissue. EASEE functions through a dual mode of action: high-frequency pulses every two minutes provide an acute, disruptive effect to prevent seizures, while a 20-minute daily application of continual current regulates hyperactive brain regions in the long term.