Two percent of the U.S. population suffers from a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  In addition, each year, 1.4 million new Americans sustain a TBI.  As one might imagine, the major causes of TBI are falls, traffic accidents and assault.  More recently, American veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have become TBI victims, primarily as a result of blast injuries.

Current treatment of severe TBI patients is largely supportive with very few options available to treat their underlying problem – cognition and/or level of consciousness.

Intelect’s deep brain stimulation therapy is currently being studied in an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) clinical feasibility trial in patients who are either in a minimally conscious state (MCS) or emerged minimally conscious state (eMCS).   In this study, an implanted DBS system excites a targeted nucleus in the thalamus of the brain to stimulate not only arousal, but also to resynchronize existing cortical networks to improve higher levels of functioning such as movement and speech.