FIDDLER IN THE OPERATING ROOM This week Naomi Elishuv, a #violinist with the #Lithuanian National #Symphony Orchestra, had surgery to correct a hand tremor that for many years prevented her from playing professionally. The operation to insert a #brain #pacemaker took place at the #TelAviv Sourasky Medical Center. Once the pacemaker is implanted, its #electrodes can be turned on or off via a remote control, and the impulses it emits supress the tremor. Placing the device correctly deep inside the brain, however, is tricky. The medical team needed her real-time collaboration. She had to play the violin during the intervention so the doctors could know when exactly the electrode was stimulating the right part of the brain. The first operation of this kind was performed back in 2009 at the #MayoClinic, in #Minnesota -considered one of the best #hospitals in the world. Roger Frisch, a concert violinist, also had a tremor that made it virtually impossible for him to play professionally. It was decided that deep brain stimulation (#DBS) was the best chance at stopping the tremor. Frisch was given a #violin and a specially-designed short bow equipped with a 3-axis #accelerometer that would be able to detect any subtle changes in his playing. A computer program would compare in real time a graph of him playing a song with a pre-recorded version. That way the medical team would know, during the operation, exactly when the electrode was properly in place. While fully conscious, the patient feels no pain, since the brain itself has no pain receptors. How cool can it get? A virtuoso of the violin and world-class surgeons in the same room. Watch the interview with the patient and the doctors: bit.ly/1kMNqBF
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 15:52:06 +0000
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