Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease (PD) utilises an implantable pulse generator (IPG) whose finite lifespan in non-rechargeable systems necessitates their periodic replacement. We wish to determine if there is any significant difference in longevity of 2 commonly used IPG systems; the Medtronic Kinetra, and the Medtronic Activa Primary Cell (PC), which has come to replace it.
All patients with bilateral Subthalamic Nucleus stimulators for PD performed in our centre were included. Battery life was then assessed using a Kaplan-Meier approach and comparisons between the Kinetra and Activa PC batteries were performed using log-rank tests.
Complete data was available for 183 patients. There was a significant difference in the average battery duration with an estimated median battery life in the Kinetra cohort of 6.6 years (95% CI 6.4-6.7), compared to 4.5 years (95% CI 4.4-4.5) in the Activa PC cohort (p < 0.001).
The Activa PC IPG demonstrates a significantly reduced battery life of 2.1 years, with a median battery life of 4.5 years in comparison to 6.6 years in the Kinetra IPG. Future technology developments should therefore be focused on improving the battery life of the newer IPG systems.