Microstructured thin-film electrode technology enables proof of concept of scalable, soft auditory brainstem implants.

Auditory brainstem implants (ABIs) provide sound awareness to deaf individuals who are not candidates for the cochlear implant. The ABI electrode array rests on the surface of the cochlear nucleus (CN) in the brainstem and delivers multichannel electrical stimulation. The complex anatomy and physiology of the CN, together with poor spatial selectivity of electrical stimulation and inherent stiffness of contemporary multichannel arrays, leads to only modest auditory outcomes among ABI users.

Predicting Current Thresholds for Pyramidal Tract Activation Using Volume of Activated Tissue Modeling in Patients Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery.

Background: The volume of activated tissue (VTA) model attempts to represent in 3 dimensions the diffusion of the current provided by the deep brain stimulation lead on brain structures. The objective of the present study was to assess the correlations among the VTA, activation of the corticospinal tract, and the intraoperative side effect (ISE) threshold.

Methods: This double-blind, single-center study was performed between September 2016 and July 2017.

Tailoring Patterns of Surface-Attached Multiresponsive Polymer Networks.

A new strategy for the fabrication of micropatterns of surface-attached hydrogels with well-controlled chemistry is reported. The "grafting onto" approach is preferred to the "grafting from" approach. It consists of cross-linking and grafting preformed and functionalized polymer chains through thiol-ene click chemistry.

High-resolution 3-dimensional T2*-weighted angiography (HR 3-D SWAN): an optimized 3-T magnetic resonance imaging sequence for targeting the subthalamic nucleus.

Background: Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) is an established treatment for Parkinson's disease.

Objective: To characterize an optimized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence (high-resolution 3-dimensional T2*-weighted angiography [HR 3-D SWAN]) for direct STN targeting.

Methods: Sequence distortions were measured using the Leksell stereotactic phantom.

Targeting the red nucleus for cerebellar tremor.

Deep brain stimulation of the thalamus (and especially the ventral intermediate nucleus) does not significantly improve a drug-resistant, disabling cerebellar tremor. The dentato-rubro-olivary tract (Guillain-Mollaret triangle, including the red nucleus) is a subcortical loop that is critically involved in tremor genesis. We report the case of a 48-year-old female patient presenting with generalized cerebellar tremor caused by alcohol-related cerebellar degeneration.