Summary:
Kochi, Kerala, India – Business Wire India • The partnership with Medtronic aims to spread awareness about Parkinson’s disease, the role of DBS as a standard of care in the disease and increase patients’ access to advanced DBS therapy through the Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Program.
• Having completed 50 DBS procedures in the last 15 months, Aster Medcity is the most active DBS Centre in Kerala.
Aster Medcity and India Medtronic Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Medtronic plc (NYSE: MDT), have partnered to build a comprehensive and advanced Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) program for Parkinson’s patients in India.
The partnership supports the Aster Centre for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder by bringing together Aster"s teams with their medical and surgical expertise in DBS therapy and Medtronic’s complete suite of DBS technologies along with technical expertise and support.
Today Aster Medcity and India Medtronic Private Limited are happy to announce the introduction of the latest version of Microelectrode recording system for DBS surgeries – NeuroNav MER system (Alpha Omega) from Medtronic at Aster Medcity Kochi, making it the first centre in South Asia to bring in this technology.
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that in the more advanced stages causes severe disability due to the increasing severity of movement related problems, balance and cognitive functions symptoms.
Overall, movement disorders constitute 3-8% of neurological disorders in India with a crude prevalence rate (CPR) varying from 31 to 45/100,000 above 60 years of age.1 In 2016, it was estimated that 6.1 million people worldwide had Parkinson’s disease.
The prevalence in India was estimated to be 10% of the global burden, that is, 5.8 lakhs.2 DBS is a therapy in which a small pacemaker-like device sends electrical signals through very thin wires, known as ‘leads’, to a targeted area in the brain related to the symptoms.
The aim of the partnership is to increase the outreach of the program to all the Parkinson’s and movement disorder patients who need the treatment, especially to those with relatively early onset (under 45 years) or young- onset of Parkinson’s disease so that they get back their mobility and functional capacity in the most productive years of their lives.
50 patients with Parkinson’s have benefitted from the partnership program in the last 15 months, making Aster Medcity the most active DBS Centre in Kerala.
This was possible under the highly experienced clinical team comprising of Dr.