The following content is created in partnership with Hartford HealthCare. It does not reflect the work or opinions of NBC Owned Television Stations Group editorial staff. Click here to learn more about Hartford HealthCare.

Hartford HealthCare is the first in Connecticut and among the first in New England to offer the most advanced Deep Brain Stimulation technology for patients with Parkinson’s disease and essential tremor.

Dr. Patrick Senatus, Neurosurgery Director at the Chase Family Movement Disorders Center at the Hartford HealthCare Ayer Neuroscience Institute, became one of the first in New England to implant the Abbott Infinity Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) System. The technology allows for more targeted treatment and reduces potential side effects.

DBS is a surgical procedure in which wires are connected from the brain to a pacemaker-like battery pack implanted in the chest. DBS is not a cure for movement disorders, but it can dramatically decrease symptoms, restore mobility and improve patients’ quality of life.

“The technology we’ve used in the past can be limited in that it stimulates an entire contiguous field within the brain including areas we sometimes may not want to stimulate. This can cause unwanted effects such as slurred speech, tingling in the hands, twitching of muscles or double vision,” says Chase Family Movement Disorders Medical Director Dr. Joy Antonelle de Marcaida. “The Abbott DBS system potentially decreases the likelihood of that because we can direct stimulation in a more focused manner.”

The system is also the world’s only DBS system operating on a Bluetooth iOS software platform. Clinicians can streamline the programming process by using the software platform on an iPad Mini mobile device. Patients can manage their symptoms with their Abbott Infinity DBS System iPod Touch mobile digital device controller.

The Chase Family Movement Disorders Center has locations in Vernon, Cheshire and Meriden.