Medtronic has announced the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its Percept RC deep brain stimulation (DBS) system.
The rechargeable neurostimulator is the latest innovation in the Medtronic Percept family, which includes the Percept PC neurostimulator, BrainSense technology and SenSight directional leads. According to Medtronic, the Percept family is the only sensing-enabled DBS system on the market, allowing the physician to personalise treatment for patients with movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia, as well as epilepsy.
“Our DBS therapy with exclusive BrainSense technology can help control debilitating tremors for people living with Parkinson’s, providing patients with the ability to physically engage in everyday moments—something many of us unintentionally take for granted,” said Amaza Reitmeier, vice president and general manager of Brain Modulation within the Neuromodulation business, which is part of the Neuroscience portfolio, at Medtronic. “We are transforming brain modulation through sensing-enabled DBS and will continue to drive therapy innovation, with the goal of many more peoples’ lives improved with Medtronic DBS therapy.”
Percept RC is the smallest and thinnest dual channel neurostimulator available for DBS, as per a recent press release from Medtronic. It is equipped with BrainSense technology that captures and records brain signals to provide insights that enable a healthcare provider to adapt and personalise therapy to a patient’s evolving needs. Unlike other rechargeable devices, Medtronic claims, the Percept RC battery also offers at least 15 years of service life with consistent and fast recharge performance.
“While more data are needed, the sensing capability of this unique deep brain stimulation system allows me the potential to tune stimulation delivery to brain activity, which may be a way to personalise this therapy for Parkinson’s disease in the future,” said Casey Halpern (University of Pennsylvania Health System, Philadelphia, USA).
Percept offers greater freedom and scan access for patients with 3T scans, and best-in-class 1.5T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan labelling, as per the release. Medtronic also claims to have the only DBS system that allows patients to have stimulation ‘on’ in bipolar mode during an MRI. In addition, the Percept neurostimulators are engineered to allow for future software updates designed for the Percept platform without a neurostimulator device exchange.
“This new rechargeable neurostimulator technology provides me with insights into my patients’ symptoms and can capture data even when they’re outside of the clinic,” said Eleni Okeanis Vaou (University of Texas Health [UTHealth] San Antonio, USA). “Now, I have a rechargeable DBS therapy option with sensing technology, allowing me to track a patient’s response to DBS and medications. I use these data to inform how to personalise and optimise patient therapy.”
Medtronic notes that Percept RC is available immediately throughout the USA, as well as via CE-mark approval in Europe, and in Japan.
The company also recently announced a number of presentations set for this week’s North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) annual meeting (18–21 January, Las Vegas, USA). A list of Medtronic sessions covering topics including DBS, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and targeted drug delivery (TDD) can be viewed in full here.
