Stimulation related artifacts and a multipurpose template-based offline removal solution for a novel sensing-enabled deep brain stimulation device

Background The Medtronic “Percept” is the first FDA approved deep brain stimulation (DBS) device with sensing capabilities during active stimulation. Its real-world signal recording properties have yet to be fully described. Objective This study details sources of artifact (and potential mitigations) in local field potential (LFP) signals collected by the Percept, and assesses the potential impact of artifact on the future development of adaptive DBS (aDBS) using this device. Methods LFP signals were collected from seven subjects in both experimental and clinical settings. The presence of artifacts and their effect on the spectral content of neural signals were evaluated in both the stimulation ON and OFF states using three distinct offline artifact removal techniques. Results Template subtraction successfully removed multiple sources of artifact, including 1) electrocardiogram (ECG), 2) non-physiologic polyphasic artifacts, and 3) ramping related artifacts seen when changing stimulation amplitudes. ECG removal from stimulation ON (at 0 mA) signals recovered the spectral shape seen when OFF stimulation (averaged difference in normalized power in theta, alpha, and beta bands ≤ 3.5%). ECG removal using singular value decomposition was similarly successful, though required subjective researcher input. QRS interpolation produced similar recovery of beta-band signal, but resulted in residual low-frequency artifact. Conclusions Artifacts present when stimulation is enabled notably affected the spectral properties of sensed signals using the Percept. Multiple discrete artifacts could be successfully removed offline using an automated template subtraction method. The presence of unrejected artifact likely influences online power estimates, with the potential to affect aDBS algorithm performance.