Hack the Gait: Inside UCSF's Real-Time Brain Breakthrough
NEUROSCIENCE FINDS
Samyuktha Jayaseelan
7/17/20263 min read
Why This Matters for the Future
This discovery marks a massive shift in how we think bioelectronics could make an impact on medicine and the lives depended on it. Historically, adaptive brain devices have adjusted very slowly, usually over minutes or hours to general chemical changes and medication levels. However, the UCSF device is the first to adapt to behaviour itself in real-time.
To see this incredible technology in action, watch how the device synchronises with real-world movement using this UCSF Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation Video!
Deep brain stimulation just got a software update!
Surgically implanted "brain pacemakers" have been a medical lifesaver for millions of people with Parkinson’s disease, helping them manage the disease’s horrible side effects like tremors and rigid muscles. However, these devices have always had a major defect: they are terrible at helping people walk. Because traditional implants usually deliver a continuous stream of electricity, they cannot keep up with the split-second coordination that is needed to take a step.
Recently, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have completely rewritten the constricting rules. In a study published in Nature Medicine, the team successfully built a smart and "adaptive" brain implant that actively listens to a patient’s brain waves and adjusts its electrical pulses a single footstep at a time.
The Walking Problem in Parkinson’s
To any average human being with functional motor skills, walking may seem like the easiest possible thing to exist. However in reality, the process of walking itself is incredibly complex. Every single stride that you take requires your brain, spinal cord, and your muscles to share signals and coordinate in mere milliseconds.
And so, when a person has Parkinson's, these vital communication lines break down, leading to severe issues with gait (a person's pattern of walking). Patients frequently deal with "freezing of gait", which often results in dangerous falls leading to serious injuries.
Because standard Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) (the treatment used to deliver constant electrical pulses to the brain) is always set to a single "volume," it cannot adjust when a patient transitions from standing still to walking
What is "Adaptive" DBS (aDBS)?
The UCSF team, led by neurosurgeon Dr. Doris Wang set out to build a device that could function with the body’s movements, rather than just firing constant electrical signals at it.
Instead of an always-on loop process, they developed adaptive DBS (aDBS), which is a responsive form of brain stimulation that automatically adjusts its settings based on real time signals.
Here is how the breakthrough works:
The team studied five sample patients who had DBS electrodes implanted in the globus pallidus (the part of the brain that helps control conscious and voluntary movement), along with temporary recording electrodes over their motor cortex.
They then discovered that as a person walks, the brain produces specific neural signatures for each leg's movement. These signals act as biological markers that indicate the exact moment a leg is about to lift or step.
Lastly, the researchers programmed the implanted device to analyse these signals and adjust the stimulation on a sub-second timescale, which is a device that delivers boosts of electricity and is timed to the patient's individual stepping rhythm.
Comparisons between Traditional DBS VS. The New Adaptive DBS