• Casey H Halpern, Kathryn R McGill, Gordon H Baltuch, and Jurg L Jaggi.
• Center for Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA.
• Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2011 Jan 1; 89 (1): 1-5.

ObjectiveThere continues to be debate about the surgical technique, electrophysiology, and hardware used in deep brain stimulation (DBS), despite its widespread use in medically intractable Parkinson's disease and essential tremor. This article is the first, to our knowledge, to compare the longevity of the available internal pulse generators (IPGs) of DBS (Kinetra and Soletra, Medtronics).MethodsWe compared the elapsed time from the initial surgery to the first replacement of IPGs in patients with bilateral Soletra IPGs to those with the unilateral Kinetra IPG and analyzed the various stimulation parameters of each device.ResultsThe battery life of the Soletra system was significantly longer than that of the Kinetra and also allowed for higher voltages, longer use of monopolar mode, and a greater number of electrode contacts.ConclusionsOur findings support superior battery life and a greater capacity for titration to symptom control with bilateral Soletra IPGs.Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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