Concert violinist Roger Frisch was so determined to have a hand tremor fixed that he agreed to play his instrument while doctors performed surgery on his brain.
Most people wouldn’t be devastated if they started experiencing a minor hand tremor, but concert violinist Roger Frisch isn’t most people.
For him, had the slight shaking, diagnosed as a nervous disorder, gone uncorrected it would have been the end of a 40-year career.
Frisch was so determined to have the problem fixed that he agreed to play his instrument while doctors performed surgery on his brain.
The procedure involved placing an electrode on the thalamus, a section buried deep inside the organ.
Precise placement is key, so to ensure that they found the right spot doctors deemed it best that they observe how their actions were impacting Frisch’s performance in real time.
As the violinist played, an accelerometer placed on the instrument’s bow read the vibrations and translated them into a graphic representation.
Surgeons involved in the deep brain simulation watched the changes in tremor’s intensity while locating the ideal spot for the apparatus.
All were no doubt happy to report that the procedure was a success.
The recovery time was short and after only 3 weeks Frisch was back playing for the Minnesota Orchestra.
