Necessity and feasibility of remote tele-programming of deep brain stimulation systems in Parkinson’s disease

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) outcomes for patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) depend on stimulation parameters optimized over multiple programming sessions, requiring frequent travel to a DBS center, which presents challenges for those with limited access. Management of DBS through telemedicine in the USA and Europe was limited until recent FDA approval of a remote tele-programming solution where clinicians can provide synchronous audio-visual telemedicine and remotely program DBS systems. The Parkinson’s Foundation hosted a collaborative survey with Abbott Labs to (1) assess the availability and accessibility to DBS specialists and (2) assess the usability of the telehealth interface [NeuroSphere™ Virtual Clinic] for synchronous tele-programming of DBS.