Intraoperative evaluation

As neuromodulation therapies become a treatment standard for a variety of disorders including medically refractory Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, dystonia, pain syndromes, epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, and other future indications, more is being learned about the longevity and function of the implantable stimulator and its components. A literature review describes a 15%–30% failure rate that includes both infection and device failure. As neuromodulation becomes more prevalent due to increased disease penetration and as the number of medical conditions that are treatable with implantable neuromodulation devices increases, the total number of device failures will also rise. With this in mind, a systematic method for troubleshooting these failures is necessary in order to minimize both neuromodulation “downtime” and the number of invasive actions required to identify and replace failed components.