Swiss AI brain 'pacemaker' helps Parkinson's patients walk

A new brain pacemaker, developed in Switzerland, could help people with Parkinson’s disease to become more mobile. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The system uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect patients’ current activity and automatically adjusts the brain stimulation accordingly. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) presented their findings on Monday in the journal Nature Medicine. Deep brain stimulation has been recognised for years as a proven treatment for advanced Parkinson’s disease. It often alleviates symptoms such as tremors or muscle stiffness. However, as the universities explained in a press release, it often has only a limited effect on gait disorders, which severely restrict many sufferers. This is precisely where the new technology comes in. An AI system analyses patients’ brain signals in real time and detects whether a person is currently sitting ...