As both an animator and a Deep Brain Stimulation surgery patient, my hat and bits of my scalp are off to Edheads for this interactive demonstration of how DBS is done.
This is not for the squeamish, but if you're not bothered by a little virtual blood you can pick up a virtual scalpel and scalp a virtual lawyer. Along the way, you'll get asked questions, "handle" high-tech equipment, and gain a better understanding of both DBS and why you weren't cut out for medical school. I was so enthralled I almost missed my scheduled meds.
This particular version of the operation is broken into different stages where parts of the operation are separated by days. Some doctors do all phases in one long operation, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Dr. Philip Starr of UCSF has now managed to perform the operation without the necessity of waking the patient to check placement. But this is still pretty state of the art, and if you don't come away with a better general understanding of DBS, your tuition to medical school will be cheerfully refunded.
3 comments:
Great blog! I'm new and I'll be a regular now.
My husband had DBS 4 or 5 years ago and it saved his life. You're right, it's not for the faint of heart but it sure made a difference for him. The next time his batteries run low, he'll have rechargeable's implanted. Woohoo!
Thanks Lisa, I hate to think what state I'd be in now without DBS, either too dyskinetic or too akinetic to be typing this is my guess. Best of luck with your rechargeable husband!
Pete
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