Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children’s Hospital now offers a new treatment for those with drug-resistant epilepsy, making it the first hospital in the state to make the treatment available to patients.

Barrow is offering the Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy (VNS Therapy) system called SenTiva, an implantable generator which is the smallest and lightest responsive therapy for epilepsy, according to a press release.

"The SenTiva from LivaNova represents the next step in caring for children with epilepsy," Dr. P. David Adelson, director of the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital’s and Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Phoenix Children's Hospital, said in a press release. "It provides Phoenix Children's clinicians the data necessary to individualize our patients care and target their unique seizure profile."

The treatment features a wireless wand and interface on a tablet that to give patients a custom therapy with smart technology that is directed by the physician.

"This next generation of neuromodulation therapy allows for much more precise monitoring of when patients are having seizures and may also allow for the identification of patients at higher risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy," Dr. Angus Wilfong, associate director of the Barrow Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital and chief of pediatric neurology at Phoenix Children's Hospital, said in the release.