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KFSHRC Implants Region’s First Smart Brain Device to Improve Neurological Disease Management

Photo by SPA
Photo by SPA
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KFSHRC Implants Region’s First Smart Brain Device to Improve Neurological Disease Management

Photo by SPA
Photo by SPA

The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) in Riyadh has performed a one of a kind procedure in the Middle East, implanting an innovative smart device inside the brain to improve control over chronic neurological disorders, according to a KFSHRC press release.

The device detects abnormal electrical activity and delivers precise electrical impulses to affected areas—helping reduce symptoms, minimize reliance on medication, and improve patients' quality of life, autonomy, and health stability.

This innovation empowers patients to better manage neurological symptoms and potentially reduce medication doses by up to 50%, alleviating side effects and enhancing daily life, particularly for individuals living with Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and movement disorders, SPA reported.

The device’s built-in artificial intelligence instantly analyses brain signals to detect abnormal activity patterns and automatically responds by delivering targeted electrical stimulation to restore neural balance. This enables highly precise, adaptive treatment that adjusts to the patient’s condition in real time—without the need for continuous manual intervention by a medical team.

While the device begins to show benefits within the first few weeks after implantation, optimal outcomes require a fine-tuning period of one to three months, during which the electrical responses are calibrated based on real-time brain signals captured by the device.

The procedure uses minimally invasive techniques that take only three to five hours, avoiding large surgical incisions. This reduces recovery time, minimizes complications, and supports a quicker return to normal daily life.

"This achievement highlights KFSHRC’s ongoing progress in harnessing artificial intelligence and medical innovation to deliver high-precision, specialized care, meeting patient needs while shaping an advanced therapeutic model for the region and beyond," the release read.

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Record Spanish Wildfires Close Part of Camino de Santiago Route

A forest fire in Ribadavia, Galicia, Spain, 18 August 2025. Multiple blazes continue to affect several provinces in Spain, after burning thousands of hectares across the country. (EPA)
A forest fire in Ribadavia, Galicia, Spain, 18 August 2025. Multiple blazes continue to affect several provinces in Spain, after burning thousands of hectares across the country. (EPA)
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Record Spanish Wildfires Close Part of Camino de Santiago Route

A forest fire in Ribadavia, Galicia, Spain, 18 August 2025. Multiple blazes continue to affect several provinces in Spain, after burning thousands of hectares across the country. (EPA)
A forest fire in Ribadavia, Galicia, Spain, 18 August 2025. Multiple blazes continue to affect several provinces in Spain, after burning thousands of hectares across the country. (EPA)

Spain's worst wave of wildfires on record spread to the southern slopes of the Picos de Europa mountains on Monday and prompted authorities to close part of the popular Camino de Santiago route.

"This is a fire situation we haven't experienced in 20 years," Defense Minister Margarita Robles told Cadena SER radio.

"The fires have special characteristics as a result of climate change and this huge heat wave," she said.

The heatwave spanning 16 days is the third-longest on record and sent temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) over the weekend, according to state weather agency Aemet. It is expected to start easing on Monday evening or Tuesday.

Southern Europe is experiencing one of its worst wildfire seasons in two decades, with Spain and Portugal among the hardest-hit countries.

So far this year, an estimated 344,400 hectares (851,000 acres) have burned in Spain - an area equivalent to the size of the island of Mallorca - according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

It's the largest area on records that goes back to 2006 and more than four times the 2006-2024 average.

A firefighter died when his truck crashed near the village of Espinoso de Compludo, raising the death toll to four from the recent wave of fires.

In Portugal, wildfires have burned about 216,200 hectares so far this year, according to EFFIS - more than four times the 2006-2024 average for this period - and two people have died.

The Spanish army has deployed 3,000 troops and 50 aircraft to help firefighters, emergency services general director Virginia Barcones said. Spain is also receiving or has been offered help from France, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic through the European Civil Protection mechanism, according to the Interior Ministry.

In the past week alone, about 20 wildfires have devastated thousands of hectares in the regions of Galicia and Castile and Leon, forcing authorities to cut rail services in the area, as well as a 50-km (30-mile) stretch of the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage path trodden by thousands in the summer.

It links France and the city of Santiago de Compostela on the western tip of Spain.

Leaders of regions run by the main opposition People's Party (PP) have criticized the central government for poor planning and asked for more resources to fight the wildfires.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday urged a "state pact" on climate change with all main political forces, which was dismissed as a "diversion" by PP spokesperson Ester Munoz on Monday.

The Interior ministry said 27 people have been arrested and 92 were under investigation for suspected arson since June.

In Palacios de Jamuz in the northern region of Castile and Leon, where a wildfire had burned down whole rows of houses, Delia Lobato was inspecting the damage and lamented the deaths of people and trees.

"Such young people who had their whole lives ahead and who are gone, that's the hardest thing," she said.

"We will plant again, and if I don't see it grow well my children will."