London, United Kingdom - October 21, 2025 A Parkinson’s disease patient played the clarinet during brain surgery, allowing surgeons to witness and hear immediate improvement in her movements after electrical stimulation was applied. Denise Bacon, a 65-year-old retired speech and language therapist from Crowborough, East Sussex, had struggled with stiffness and slowed movement since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014. Her symptoms had made walking, swimming, dancing, and playing the clarinet increasingly difficult. During a four-hour operation at King’s College Hospital, Professor Keyoumars Ashkan MBE performed Deep Brain Stimulation, or DBS, a surgical technique used for patients whose movement disorders are resistant to other treatments. Electrodes were implanted in Denise’s brain and connected to a pulse generator that delivers electrical impulses to regulate brain activity. The effect was immediate. When the current was applied, her finger movements improved, and she could play the clarinet with much greater ease. Professor Ashkan explained that “Deep Brain Stimulation, where stimulating electrodes are placed into the deep structures of the brain, is a long-established procedure to improve motor symptoms in patients with movement disorders.” He said small holes were made in Denise’s skull using a guiding frame “acting as a sat nav” to position the electrodes precisely. As a passionate clarinet player, Denise had brought her instrument into the operating room to test her ability mid-surgery. Surgeons observed an instant improvement once stimulation was delivered to her brain. Awake under local anaesthetic, Denise recalled: “I remember my right hand being able to move with much more ease once the stimulation was applied, and this in turn improved my ability to play the clarinet.” She added that she is already noticing better walking ability and hopes to return to swimming and dancing soon. Denise received a rechargeable generator implanted in her chest that can last up to 20 years and automatically adjust stimulation based on brain activity.