Management of deep brain stimulator battery failure: battery estimators, charge density, and importance of clinical symptoms.

Abstract

ObjectiveWe aimed in this investigation to study deep brain stimulation (DBS) battery drain with special attention directed toward patient symptoms prior to and following battery replacement.BackgroundPreviously our group developed web-based calculators and smart phone applications to estimate DBS battery life (http://mdc.mbi.ufl.edu/surgery/dbs-battery-estimator).MethodsA cohort of 320 patients undergoing DBS battery replacement from 2002-2012 were included in an IRB approved study. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY).ResultsThe mean charge density for treatment of Parkinson's disease was 7.2 µC/cm(2)/phase (SD = 3.82), for dystonia was 17.5 µC/cm(2)/phase (SD = 8.53), for essential tremor was 8.3 µC/cm(2)/phase (SD = 4.85), and for OCD was 18.0 µC/cm(2)/phase (SD = 4.35). There was a significant relationship between charge density and battery life (r = -.59, pConclusionsBattery estimations, charge density, total power and clinical symptoms were important factors. The observation of clinical worsening that was rescued following neurostimulator replacement reinforces the notion that changes in clinical symptoms can be associated with battery drain.