Fax +41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.com www.karger.com Original Paper Eur Neurol 2013;69:193–199 DOI: 10.1159/000342236 A New Rechargeable Device for Deep Brain Stimulation: A Prospective Patient Satisfaction Survey Lars Timmermann   a Michael Schüpbach   d,e Frank Hertel   c Elisabeth Wolf   f Roberto Eleopra   g Angelo Franzini   h Domenico Servello   i Inger-Marie Skogseid   j Jordi Rumia   k Antonio Salvador Aliaga   l Michael T. Barbe   a K.Amande M. Pauls   a Jean-Pierre Lin   n Elena Moro   m Andrew Lloyd   o Mohammad Maarouf   b Departments of a  Neurology and b  Stereotactic Neurosurgery, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, and c  Department of Neurosurgery, Idar Oberstein Klinikum, Idar Oberstein, Germany; d  Movement Disorders Centre, Department of Neurology, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; e  Centre d’Investigation Clinique, Fédération des Maladies du Système Nerveux, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Group, and INSERM, UMR 679, Neurology and Experimental Therapeutics, Paris, France; f  Department of Neurology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck , Austria; g  Department of Neurology AOS Maria della Misericordia, Udine, and h  Department of Neurosurgery IRCCS Besta and i  Department of Neurosurgery IRCCS Galeazzi, Milano, Italy; j  Department of Neurology, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway; k  Department of Neurosurgery, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, and l  Department of Neurology, Clinico Universitario, Valencia, Spain; m  Movement Disorders Center, Toronto Western Hospital, UHN, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont., Canada; n  Paediatric Neuroscience, Evelina Children’s Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, and o  Oxford Outcomes, Oxford, UK was introduced: smaller, lighter and intended to function for 9 years. Methods: Of 35 patients implanted with the re- chargeable device, 21 (including 8 PD, 10 dystonia, 2 ET) were followed before and 3 months after surgery and completed a systematic survey of satisfaction with the rechargeable de- vice. Results: Overall patient satisfaction was high (83.3 ± 18.3). Dystonia patients tended to have lower satisfaction values for fit and comfort of the system than PD patients. Age was significantly negatively correlated with satisfaction regarding process of battery recharging. Conclusions: Dys- tonia patients (generally high-energy consumption, severe problems at the DBS device end-of-life) are good, reliable candidates for a rechargeable DBS system. In PD, younger patients, without signs of dementia and good technical un- derstanding, might have highest benefit. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel Key Words Deep brain stimulation · Movement disorders · Patient satisfaction Abstract Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is highly success- ful in treating Parkinson’s disease (PD), dystonia, and essen- tial tremor (ET). Until recently implantable neurostimulators were nonrechargeable, battery-driven devices, with a life- time of about 3–5 years. This relatively short duration causes problems for patients (e.g. programming and device-use limitations, unpredictable expiration, surgeries to replace depleted batteries). Additionally, these batteries (relatively large with considerable weight) may cause discomfort. To overcome these issues, the first rechargeable DBS device Receveid: May 7, 2012 Accepted: July 29, 2012 Published online: January 10, 2013 Prof. Dr. Lars Timmermann Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 9 DE–50924 Köln (Germany) E-Mail lars.timmermann  @  uk-koeln.de © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel 0014–3022/13/0694–0193$38.00/0 Accessible online at: www.karger.com/ene