By now Parkinson’s disease has become a common phenomenon and many people know very well about this crippling disease. Medtronic’s latest devices now get a go ahead with a FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval for their deep brain stimulation devices: Activa RC and Activa PC.

FDA and Medtronic logos

These brain stimulation devices deliver small electrical pulses to the accurate spot within one or both sides of the brain that aids the patient in achieving greater control over disabling body movements. This bi-lateral stimulation technique is a step ahead in terms of device programming and also offer supplementary tools that help in capturing the history that plays a significant role in the patient’s therapy.

The devices also feature new programming options that endow these medical gadgets with greater ability to fine tune the stimulation field and offers customization of setting as per the patient’s requirements.

“The Activa RC and Activa PC devices offer exciting new programming features that can further enhance the therapeutic benefit of deep brain stimulation for patients with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders,” mentioned Leo Verhagen, M.D., Ph.D., medical director of the Surgery Program for Movement Disorders at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. “This advanced technology will offer more programming features that allow doctors to optimize stimulation effects and also provide options for patients to better control and monitor their therapy settings. For appropriate patients who require high energy settings on their DBS devices, the rechargeable device (Activa RC) may eliminate the need for frequent battery changes.”

Zooming on to each of these device’s features, the Activa PC neurostimulator uses a primary cell (non-rechargeable) battery that boasts off a hassle-free performance that does not require any regular maintenance. The device also arrives in a 20 percent smaller size and weighs less in comparisons to its predecessors. Although light in weight and small in size, the performance has not been affected as the Activa PC delivers a similar battery life as that of previous bi-lateral devices.

The next medical device – Activa RC boasts to be the first and only rechargeable DBS neurostimulator in the world and claims of lasting up to nine years before any replacement is required. All that needs to be done by the patient is a simple recharge at home. Even this device presents a smaller size and is apt for the patients who require high-energy stimulation.

Both the devices were approved in Europe in August 2008 and Medtronic’s Activa PC features as the most widely used device in Europe for bi-lateral DBS therapy.