Seventy-two-year-old Ge Dongju was discharged from Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, Hubei province on Friday after receiving a deep brain stimulation surgery to treat Parkinson's disease. She became the first patient to complete the reimbursement settlement after Hubei added the deep brain stimulation system to the basic medical insurance payment on Tuesday.
The newly covered devices include the deep brain stimulator, intracranial nerve stimulation electrodes, and electrode leads. The update means that deep brain stimulation therapy, a representative application of cutting-edge brain-computer interface technology, now enjoys full medical insurance support in Hubei, spanning preoperative assessment, surgical implantation, and postoperative rehabilitation, according to the Healthcare Security Administration of Hubei Province.
