September 16, 2026

@michaelokun

Today we launch the 14th annual DBS Think Tank at UF Health and the Fixel Institute. What better way to start than by looking back at what we learned last year? DBS is deep brain stimulation, a therapy that uses implanted electrodes to modulate specific brain circuits. Chance Fleeting and colleagues captured the discussions from last year’s DBS Think Tank XIII in a newly published proceedings paper in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. The meeting brought together clinicians, scientists, engineers, industry, ethicists and folks living w/ neuromodulation devices to debate where DBS is headed. Key points: - DBS is rapidly moving from simply asking where to stimulate toward understanding who to stimulate, when to stimulate and how to personalize therapy using brain networks and biomarkers. - Adaptive and activity-dependent DBS may allow stimulation to change in real time based on walking, symptoms and brain state, opening new possibilities for gait and other difficult-to-treat symptoms. - The future is bigger than technology. Ethics, access, post-trial responsibility, patient-centered outcomes, genetics and partnerships between academia and industry must evolve alongside the devices. My take: The DBS Think Tank has never been about everyone agreeing. It is about putting smart and passionate folks in the same room, debating what we know, challenging what we think we know and identifying what we need to do next. As we launch year 14 today, the field is shifting from stimulating a spot in the brain toward understanding and modulating circuits and networks in the right person at the right time. Here are 5 points that resonated w/ me: 1- The future of DBS will be increasingly personalized. 2- Closed-loop and adaptive systems are moving from concept toward clinical reality. 3- Brain networks may matter as much as traditional anatomical targets. 4- Innovation must be paired w/ access, ethics and responsibility to the folks receiving these devices. 5- The most important advances will likely emerge when persons w/disease, clinicians, neuroscientists, engineers and industry challenge each other and work together.