How a pacemaker for the brain is helping Parkinson’s patients | CNN
- 21 hours ago
- 1 min read
Catalyst Innovator Dr. Helen Bronte-Stewart, a Stanford Medicine professor of neurology, has dedicated her career to understanding how the brain controls movement and what happens when that process breaks down. As the global lead investigator of an international clinical trial, she spearheaded the development of an adaptive deep brain stimulation (aDBS) device — essentially a pacemaker for the brain — that senses brain activity in real time and tailors electrical pulses accordingly, only firing when needed.
Unlike traditional deep brain stimulation, which delivers constant electrical pulses around the clock, this adaptive technology listens to brain activity and adjusts stimulation in response CNN, representing a major leap forward for the estimated 10 million people worldwide living with Parkinson's disease. The work resulted in FDA approval of the Medtronic-made device in February 2025, and Time magazine recognized it as one of the Best Inventions of 2025.
Bronte-Stewart was named the first woman neurologist in Stanford's department of neurology, and her collaborators praise her ability to bridge research and industry while building meaningful relationships with patient pioneers willing to test groundbreaking technology. Patients in the trial report that the device rolled back their symptoms by roughly five years, reducing tremors, brain fog, and reliance on medications.
As Bronte-Stewart told CNN: the approval is just the beginning, with the technology only getting better and the aim of eventually slowing Parkinson's progression altogether.