Methodological Considerations for Neuroimaging in Deep Brain Stimulation of the Subthalamic Nucleus in Parkinson’s Disease Patients

• Main Authors: Bethany R. Isaacs, Max C. Keuken, Anneke Alkemade, Yasin Temel, Pierre-Louis Bazin, Birte U. Forstmann
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: Parkinson’s disease; magnetic resonance imaging; deep brain stimulation; ultra-high field
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/10/3124

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus is a neurosurgical intervention for Parkinson’s disease patients who no longer appropriately respond to drug treatments. A small fraction of patients will fail to respond to DBS, develop psychiatric and cognitive side-effects, or incur surgery-related complications such as infections and hemorrhagic events. In these cases, DBS may require recalibration, reimplantation, or removal. These negative responses to treatment can partly be attributed to suboptimal pre-operative planning procedures via direct targeting through low-field and low-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). One solution for increasing the success and efficacy of DBS is to optimize preoperative planning procedures via sophisticated neuroimaging techniques such as high-resolution MRI and higher field strengths to improve visualization of DBS targets and vasculature. We discuss targeting approaches, MRI acquisition, parameters, and post-acquisition analyses. Additionally, we highlight a number of approaches including the use of ultra-high field (UHF) MRI to overcome limitations of standard settings. There is a trade-off between spatial resolution, motion artifacts, and acquisition time, which could potentially be dissolved through the use of UHF-MRI. Image registration, correction, and post-processing techniques may require combined expertise of traditional radiologists, clinicians, and fundamental researchers. The optimization of pre-operative planning with MRI can therefore be best achieved through direct collaboration between researchers and clinicians.