Computational modelling and analysis of thermal characteristics of DBS electrode in application to Parkinson's disease

Worldwide over 6.3 million people are diagnosed with Parkinson disease (PD) and irrespective of races, every year there is an increase of 75,000 new diagnosis [1]. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) has emerged as an effective intervention for treating neurological and motor disorders like PD. It involves surgically implanting Platinum electrode to create an electric field to activate the targeted nerve cells and fibers with minimized side effects. Some of the important stimulation parameters to monitor include temperature, electric field intensity and the current density [2]. Selective partial activation of the target could be optimally achieved in segmented electrode design. This paper presents a Finite Element Model (FEM) for DBS electrode in monopolar, bipolar and quadripolar configuration and the comparative effect of temperature and current density distribution for each of the electrode configuration is given. This study shows an increase in the tissue temperature to a maximum of 37.16 °C as the electrode segmentation increases. Monopolar electrode configuration provides a better uniformity in the current density distribution at the surface of the electrodes at a lower value than the rest of the configurations.