# Noninvasive Biomarkers to Advance Emerging DBS Electrode Technologies in Parkinson's Disease

> **NIH NIH UH3** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2021 · $1,349,258

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
It is easy to underestimate the importance of normal movement in daily life, until that ability is altered or taken
away by disease. Used in more than 150,000 patients worldwide, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is often an
effective therapy for Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders, however symptomatic improvement
varies substantially in individuals, across clinical trials, and over time. DBS is now proposed for earlier disease
stages in Parkinson's disease and for new indications in neurology and psychiatry, potentially exposing larger
numbers of patients to this invasive therapy. Emerging segmented or “directional” DBS lead technology
provides unprecedented opportunities to optimize clinical improvement and tolerability and to drive innovation
in neuromodulation. We have pioneered new putative biomarkers that measure patient-specific cortical
physiology elicited by DBS with combined electrocorticography and electroencephalography. Our findings
demonstrate robust within-participant changes in cortical activation that distinguish effective versus ineffective
stimulation sites. Here we will leverage this knowledge to guide efficient implementation of current steering
with novel directional DBS lead technology. Our primary goal is to deliver innovative approach to tailor and
optimize field shaping with novel directional lead technology to improve the efficacy and tolerability of DBS in
patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. Additionally, our results will provide foundational knowledge (1)
to better understand the concept of DBS dose; (2) to refine surgical targeting in real time; (3) and to inform
emerging closed loop stimulation paradigms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10226816
- **Project number:** 5UH3NS100553-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Harrison Carroll Walker
- **Activity code:** UH3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $1,349,258
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-30 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10226816

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10226816, Noninvasive Biomarkers to Advance Emerging DBS Electrode Technologies in Parkinson's Disease (5UH3NS100553-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10226816. Licensed CC0.

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