This implantable device from NeuroPace incorporates the same technology by zapping the problematic area and normalizing brain activity before the patient experiences seizure symptoms. The underlying principles and mechanisms referring to why brain stimulation is often successful are still not incredibly clear. However, what is known is how the brain’s activity influences seizure activity in the first place. This can be described by taking a deeper look into what functions are controlled by different parts of the brain and how they correlate with epileptic seizures and stimulation. The human brain is the source of human epilepsy. Although the symptoms of a seizure may affect any part of the body, the electrical events that produce the symptoms occur in the brain. The location of that event, the extent of its reach within the tissue of the brain, and how long it lasts all have profound effects. These three factors determine the character of the seizure, its impact on the individual, and the social consequences involved (EFCNW, 2009). Nerves throughout the body function like telephone lines; this enables the brain to communicate with every part of the body through electrical signals. In epilepsy, the brain's electrical rhythms are often imbalanced, resulting in recurrent seizures. Normally, the brain continuously generates tiny electrical impulses in an orderly pattern. These impulses travel along the network of nerve cells in the brain and throughout the whole body by the work of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. A seizure occurs when the brain's nerve cells misfire and generate a sudden, uncontrolled surge of electrical activity in the brain. If seizures arise from a specific area of the brain, then the initial symptoms of the seizure often reflect the functions of that area. For example, it is known that the right half of the brain controls the left side of the body, and the left half of the brain controls the right side of the body, so if a patient is having the most trouble with right side of their body, then it is known that the area to connect the leads lies in the left side of the brain (Epilepsy, 2009). This is the process of figuring out where to put the leads of the RNS System in the patient’s brain. Through assessing personal seizure activity, it is often predicted where to position the different components of the implantation.

The RNS system consists of an implantable device and separate external components. The implantable device includes the leads, electrodes, the main device, and the monitoring system. The leads are placed in the target area of the brain and are the main transfer system from which the electrical shock flows to the problem area. Implanted in the main device, the electrodes are small wires that are placed five inches in the brain to begin implantation. These help transmit the electronic pulses. Next, the main device, which is the size of an iPod Shuffle, holds a battery powered stimulator that is made up of the electrodes. Lastly, the monitoring system includes a computer chip that detects and stores a record of the brain’s electrical activity, located next to the battery device. External components include the programmer, a hand held wand, and a data transmitter. The programmer collects information from the RNS about brain electrical activity and is used to program the RNS to make detections and deliver responsive stimulation (Neuropace, 2009). It is a modified laptop computer which communicates with the RNS via a hand-held wand. It is used to program the detection and stimulation parameters of an implanted device. They can also view the patient's electrocorticographic activity (the practice of using electrodes placed directly on the exposed surface of the brain to record electrical activity from the cerebral cortex ) and upload the patient's ECoGs that have been stored in the RNS . The hand held wand is used to communicate with the RNS neurostimulator, as it sets off the system to record information. The last external component is given to the patients, the data transmitter. The patients are asked to upload data from the device to a private Internet site nearly every day (Neuropace, 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The data is then studied and adjustments are sometimes made to the implant to more effectively counter the seizures. Neuropace is currently only performing clinical trials with this product. Their publications page warns that all trials involve risk and that the RNS System is no different. They claim that there may be side effects or bad reactions to the device or therapy. It is also stated that therapy could, in fact, even make the seizures worse. As mentioned above, this system does require brain surgery. All surgeries pose some risk, so the implantation process of the battery powered device, leads, and electrodes are no different. However, in follow ups that have been done anywhere from 6 months to 2 years after the operation as of February of 2009, there have yet to be any unanticipated negative events (Neuropace Publications, 2009).

1.       Epilepsy Foundation (2009) “Living with Epilepsy”-Retrieved February 28, 2009 fromwww.efcnw.com.

2.       Kyberd, P (Jan, 2009) “Neurtoechnology”-Retrieved March 3, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurotechnology

3.       NeuroPace, Inc (2008) “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article”-Retrieved February 13th, 2009 From http://www.neuropace.com/about/news/UWisc_Milwaukee_Journal_Sentinel_2008.pdf

4.       NeuroPace, Inc (2009) “Neuropace Publications”-Retrieved March 8th, 2009 from http://www.neuropace.com/trials/overview.html

5.       NeuroPace, Inc (2009) “Our Product”-Retrieved February 13th, 2009 from http://www.neuropace.com/product/overview.htm