Achieving electric field steering in deep brain stimulation

This paper presents an investigation into the use of a leaky wave antenna for deep brain stimulation. The proposed design could replace the currently used electrode array which provides a periodic pulse train to stimulate a region of brain tissue within the subthalamic nucleus or globus pallidus, pars interna to minimize the effects of tremor in a human subject. We demonstrate that it is possible to apply a simple-structured Leaky Wave Antenna in human tissue to steer the field of activation. It is the first time a leaky wave antenna is employed in biomedical context. The preliminary design operates between 70 to 120 GHz. Its main beam can cover 72 degree of angular range with an average 13 dBi directivity within the operating frequency band.