Retired speech and language therapist Denise Bacon, 65, of East Sussex, England, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 11 years ago. She moved slowly, had stiff muscles, couldn’t dance, swim or walk as she once had. Playing her clarinet was out of the question, and further deterioration was her forecast.
Neurosurgeon Keyoumars Ashkan performed a 4-hour Deep Brain Stimulation on Denise in July. DBS surgery connected electrodes on each side of her brain to a pulse generator that delivers electrical impulses to modify brain activity and quell symptoms.
Denise was awake during surgery. She was given a local anesthetic to numb her scalp and skull, as the brain has no pain receptors, so she was aware of everything but felt nothing.
Until she did. Her right hand started to move easily. At her surgeon’s request, she picked up her clarinet while on the operating table and began to play.
Dr. Keyoumars then inserted a pulse generator battery in Denise’s chest that will deliver the electrical current to her brain for 20 years before it needs replacing.
There’s nothing artificial about intelligence.