Expectations And Outcomes

Since the resurgence of neurostimulation technologies in the 1990s, promising advances have been made in this field by altering nervous system function for relief of pain and other symptoms in select patients. Combined with a better understanding of the disease process, the use of electrical stimulation and lesioning of specific targets in the brain or spinal cord has provided many patients with the amelioration of symptoms and medication reduction, thus improving their overall quality of life. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for pain, motor cortex stimulation (MCS) for neuropathic pain, and vagal nerve stimulation and responsive neurostimulation (VNS and RNS) for epilepsy are described with respect to the end-user experience that includes patient clinical outcomes and perceptions.