Newronika's AlphaDBS system implanted in first Parkinson's study patient
Written by Patricia Inácio, PhD | Oct. 7, 2026
The first Parkinson’s disease patient has been implanted with Newronika‘s adaptive AlphaDBS, an innovative deep brain stimulation (DBS) system, as part of a pivotal clinical trial underway in Italy.
The ADVENT study (NCT06891781) will compare the adaptive AlphaDBS system with conventional DBS in people with Parkinson’s. The trial is expected to enroll 104 adults with idiopathic (unknown cause) Parkinson’s who have been referred for DBS on both sides of the subthalamic nucleus, a brain region involved in movement.
Enrollment is underway in Italy and is expected to begin soon in the U.S., with additional European centers also planned. The trial is intended to generate evidence to support a future application for U.S. approval.
“This study is designed to generate rigorous evidence by comparing adaptive and conventional stimulation in the same participants. We are grateful to the participant[s], the clinical team, and all the investigators contributing to this international study,” Lorenzo Rossi, co-founder and CEO of Newronika, said in a press release.
AlphaDBS designed to continuously sense and analyze brain signals
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder marked by motor symptoms including tremor, muscle stiffness, and bradykinesia, or slowed movement.
DBS is an established surgical treatment for some people whose symptoms are not adequately controlled with medication. It involves implanting electrodes in specific brain regions and connecting them to a pulse-generating device that delivers electrical stimulation to alter abnormal brain activity.
Conventional DBS delivers stimulation using settings programmed by a clinician, which generally remain constant until manually changed. Adaptive DBS, by contrast, monitors brain activity and automatically adjusts stimulation within clinician-set limits as a person’s needs change.
AlphaDBS is designed to continuously sense and analyze brain signals and adjust electrical stimulation in response, creating a closed-loop system.
The technology has been in clinical development for several years. In 2021, the first person with Parkinson’s was implanted with AlphaDBS in a clinical study (NCT04681534) designed to assess its safety, tolerability, and potential effectiveness. The study compared adaptive stimulation with conventional stimulation during short hospital and at-home treatment periods.
Recent Comments