Visual Inspection of DBS Efficacy

At present, approximately ten million people worldwide are afflicted by Parkinson’s Disease (PD). One of the most promising therapies for PD is Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). DBS works via stimulation of targeted central brain regions (nuclei), whose dysfunction is implicated in PD. A key problem with DBS is determining optimal parameters for clinical outcome. While multiple parameters may influence outcomes in DBS, we explore spatial correlation of volume of tissue activated (VTA) to Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) scores. Using the Neurostimulation Uncertainty Viewer (nuView), we investigate a number of cooperative visualizations for DBS inspection. Surface-to-surface Euclidean distance between VTA and selected brain nuclei are used in a linked 3D and parallel coordinates view of patient outcome. We then present a semivariogram-based approach to measure spatial correlation of patient outcomes with VTA. As a third component, nuView provides a unique visualization of an ensemble of electrode placements to reduce clutter and emphasize electrodes with spatially similar VTA. These methods corroborate a spatial aspect to DBS efficacy.