Precision of post-operative localization of deep brain stimulation electrodes

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 18652 - 8
• Main Authors: Lasica, Andrej, Filip, Pavel, Burdová, Kristína, Mana, Josef, Růžička, Filip, Urgošík, Dušan, Mueller, Karsten, Kiakou, Dimitra, Jech, Robert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 28.05.2025; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/378; 692/617; 692/617/375; Aged; Deep brain stimulation; Deep Brain Stimulation - instrumentation; Deep Brain Stimulation - methods; Electrode localization; Electrodes; Electrodes, Implanted; Female; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Localization; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroimaging; Parkinson Disease - therapy; Parkinson's disease; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Software; Software packages; Subthalamic nucleus; Subthalamic Nucleus - surgery; Neuroimaging; Electrode localization; Magnetic resonance imaging; Deep brain stimulation; Subthalamic nucleus; Parkinson’s disease; Software comparison
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-01449-6

Tools for post-operative localization of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes may be of major benefit in the evaluation of the stimulation area. However, little is known about their precision. This study compares 3 different software packages used for DBS electrode localization. T1-weighted MRI images before and after the implantation of the electrodes into the subthalamic nucleus for DBS in 105 Parkinson’s disease patients were processed using the pipelines implemented in Lead-DBS, SureTune4, and Brainlab. Euclidean distance between active contacts determined by individual software packages and in repeated processing by the same and by a different operator was calculated. Furthermore, Dice coefficient for overlap of volume of tissue activated (VTA) was determined for Lead-DBS. Medians of Euclidean distances between estimated active contact locations in inter-software package comparison ranged between 1.5 mm and 2 mm. Euclidean distances in within-software package intra- and inter-rater assessments were 0.6–1 mm and 1–1.7 mm, respectively. Median intra- and inter-rater Dice coefficients for VTAs were 0.78 and 0.75, respectively. Since the median distances are close to the size of the target nucleus, any clinical use should be preceded by careful review of the outputs.