Continuing care and support after deep brain stimulation
Official title: Post-trial Access, Clinical Care, Psychosocial Support, and Scientific Progress in Experimental Deep Brain Stimulation Research
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11302830 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is working to make sure people who get experimental deep brain stimulation can keep getting device care, medical follow-up, and psychosocial support after their research participation ends.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | August 18, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $466,410 |
| NIH project number | 7R01MH133657-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11302830 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people who have received investigational deep brain stimulation implants for conditions such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, movement disorders, OCD, or depression, along with their care partners.
✕Less likely to help
People without implanted investigational neurodevices, or whose care does not involve DBS, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you participate, researchers will gather experiences from people with investigational DBS implants and their caregivers using interviews, surveys, and follow-up contacts to learn what happens after trials end. They will examine medical, financial, and logistical barriers to ongoing device maintenance and access, and review policies at hospitals, funders, and device manufacturers. The team will combine participant and institutional perspectives to propose practical pathways and recommendations for improved post-trial clinical care and psychosocial support. The work is based at Massachusetts General Hospital and aims to guide hospitals, funders, and device makers toward better long-term care practices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help people keep access to beneficial investigational DBS devices, reduce financial and emotional burdens, and improve long-term outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: There are case reports and small studies documenting post-trial access problems, but comprehensive, tested solutions for ensuring long-term care remain limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lazaro-Munoz, Gabriel — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Lazaro-Munoz, Gabriel
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Cerebellar Deep Brain Stimulation for Spinocerebellar Ataxias
A preliminary clinical trial will test delivering electrical stimulation to the cerebellum in people with spinocerebellar ataxia to see if it improves balance and coordination.
-
Improving deep brain stimulation with MRI and AI
We use brain scans and artificial intelligence to speed up and personalize deep brain stimulation settings for people getting DBS.
-
Adaptive deep brain stimulation to help Parkinson's patients respond to daily changes
A new, smarter brain stimulation approach for Parkinson’s disease aims to automatically adjust therapy throughout the day to better control symptoms.
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Automated programming for personalized deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s disease
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Ventral pallidum brain stimulation for epilepsy
A brain stimulation therapy in people with epilepsy whose seizures aren’t controlled by medicines or surgery is being studied to see if it can help achieve seizure freedom.
-
TinyML-powered closed-loop DBS for Parkinson's disease
A small, energy-efficient brain-stimulation system using lightweight AI runs on an implanted device to adapt DBS in real time for people with Parkinson's disease.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.