Bipolar deep brain stimulation permits routine EKG, EEG, and polysomnography.

As the population of patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) grows and the patients age, more will require routine or emergent electrophysiologic tests. DBS artifact may render these uninterpretable, whereas stopping DBS may release symptoms that confound evaluation. The authors find that monopolar, but not bipolar, stimulation produces significant artifact during EKG, EEG, and polysomnography.