Big Data and Deep Brain Stimulation

Surgeons, neurologists, researchers, and patients have lacked the technology-based tools to facilitate sharing the tremendously valuable data about patients’ treatment and research in regard to what is working and what is not. Today, only 9% of patients who could benefit from complex therapies to address neurologic conditions actually receive them, and the medical information for each patient who does is hidden away in disconnected databases. To optimize and accelerate our understanding of the brain, we need to gather intelligence around every case, every research subject, every study while connecting that information through a unified, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA)-compliant network that leverages technology and harnesses the Internet to drive advancements and better connect patients to their care teams. In this chapter, we highlight the key aspects needed to fulfill the requirements of a robust, HIPAA-compliant archive for brain data and highlight the impact of normalization on the accuracy of statistical analyses.