Scientists at New York University have developed a gene therapy for chronic pain. The technology works by targeting the NaV1.7 sodium ion channel present on neurons, which is an important component of the pain response. The researchers encoded a version of a peptide that allows a modulatory protein, called CRMP2, to bind to NaV1.7 sodium […]
Tag: Pain Management
AI-Powered Pain Relief: Interview with Claire Smith, VP at Nevro
Nevro, a medtech company based in California, has developed the HFX iQ spinal cord stimulation system, which is intended to treat chronic pain. While spinal cord stimulators can be very useful in controlling certain types of chronic pain, at present, patients must attend with their clinician to obtain adjustments to their stimulator. This is inconv (Read more...)
Soft Bioresorbable Implant Controls Pain by Cooling Nerves
A team of engineers at Northwestern University led by John Rogers, the person responsible for many advances in flexible electronics, created a drug-free implant that can control pain by cooling nerves. The soft implant is intended to be wrapped around a nerve during surgical procedures that would typically involve opioid-based analgesia afterwards. (Read more...)
Wireless Data Transfer for Implanted Devices Using Ionic Communication
Researchers at the Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science have developed a new method for implanted devices to communicate with the outside world that exploits the ions that are naturally present in our tissues. Ion-rich tissues store potential energy, and in this paradigm an implanted device would alter this stored energy wi (Read more...)
DNA Vibe Jazz Band Therapy: A Review
Made in the USA, the DNA Jazz Band Vibe joins a newer class of sports medicine-related healing therapies that include photobiomodulation. Photobiomodulation is a form of light therapy that uses specific wavelengths of red light and near-infrared light to help stimulate, heal, regenerate, and protect cells. However, this product goes beyond light th (Read more...)
Spinal Cord Stimulators for Chronic Pain: Interview with Charlie Covert, VP and GM, Pain Therapies, Medtronic
Chronic pain is a difficult burden to bear, but advances in spinal stimulators are helping suitable patients to gain some control over their infliction. Medtronic is a major player in this space, and is continually developing its spinal cord stimulators to better address patient and clinician needs. For instance, the company announced the release o (Read more...)
Medgadget Reviews the Sleep Number i10 360 Smart Bed
Ten years ago, Sleep Number gave Medgadget the opportunity to try out their advanced beds. As you’ve probably seen on numerous TV commercials and in retail outlets, Sleep Number beds are known for their adjustable firmness, accomplished by changing the air pressure inside their mattresses. We had enjoyed sleeping on the bed, but found that [& (Read more...)
Inflatable Neurostimulator for Minimally Invasive Pain Control
Researchers at the University of Cambridge created a spinal stimulation device that can help to control severe pain. Unlike existing technologies, which require invasive surgery for implantation, the new device can be delivered using a needle. Once implanted, the device unfurls and inflates in place to provide extensive coverage during spinal cord (Read more...)
Tunable Vibrations Could be Key to Reducing Lower Back Pain
Researchers at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan have developed a device that can diagnose and help to correct postural instability leading to back pain. The technique involves using vibration to stimulate sensory receptors that help the brain to perceive the position of the body in space, which is known as proprioception. The approach [& (Read more...)
Spinal Cord Stimulators Manage Pain without Tingling
Boston Scientific is releasing in the United States its Wavewriter Alpha line of spinal cord stimulators. The four Wavewriter Alpha pain management devices provide Bluetooth connectivity, allow patients to still be scanned under MRI, given certain precautions, and offer so-called Fast Acting Sub-perception Therapy (FAST). FAST is exciting because i (Read more...)
Cios Flow Mobile C-Arm from Siemens FDA Cleared
Siemens Healthineers just announced FDA clearance to introduce its Cios Flow mobile C-arm in the United States. Developed for use in orthopedics, vascular surgery, trauma, spinal surgery, and other fields, it’s intended to be a general purpose C-arm that can be easily used in a variety of cases. The Cios Flow is a relatively compact [… (Read more...)
“VRx”: A Medgadget Book Interview with Author Dr. Brennan Spiegel
In the recently released science-fiction novel Ready Player Two, protagonist Wade Watts spends the majority of the book inside a virtual reality universe called the “OASIS”. Though the OASIS is merely a simulation consisting of computer-generated imagery, immersive sound, and gesture-based interaction, it has a profound impact on realit (Read more...)
Vagus Nerve Stimulator Gets FDA Emergency OK for Asthmatics with COVID
People stricken with COVID-19 exhibit a wide range of symptoms. Some are barely affected while others suffer dire consequences. People with asthma are in particular danger, as SARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory virus that can make breathing even more difficult. Now, the FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the gammaCore Sapphire CV non-invasi (Read more...)
Spinal Cord Stimulators Give Robotic Prostheses a Sense of Touch
Upper arm prostheses that give their users a sense of touch have been developed in the past (see flashbacks below). These require careful surgical placement of electrodes near the remaining nerves within the stump and precise stimulation of said nerves. Now researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have achieved a remarkable feat of using existin (Read more...)
Micro-LEDs and Solar Panels Wirelessly Power Medical Implants
Researchers at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea have developed a method to wirelessly power implanted devices using light. The technique involves a micro-LED patch to transmit light through the skin and a photovoltaic system on implanted devices that can turn this light into electricity. This technology could help rese (Read more...)
Bridge, The Opioid Withdrawal Therapy Device, Released by Masimo
Masimo has announced that it’s making the Bridge device available, the first electronic therapeutic solution for tackling opioid withdrawals. Originally developed by Innovative Health Solutions, a Versailles, Indiana firm, the Bridge delivers neuromodulation to a set of occipital and cranial nerves (V, VII, IX, and X) via electrodes attached (Read more...)
ReActiv8 Neurostimulator Treats Cause of Back Pain, Now FDA Approved
Mainstay Medical, an Irish firm, just won FDA approval to introduce its ReActiv8 neurostimulator that works to address the underlying causes of back pain. Most existing pain reducing implants work to simply mask the pain by delivering electrical signals to the relevant nerves. The ReActiv8 instead stimulates the multifidus muscle, that lies next to (Read more...)
Nevro Receives EU Approval for Senza Omnia Spinal Cord Stimulation System
Nevro, a Silicon Valley-based company, announced that it has received CE mark approval for its Senza Omnia Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system for management of chronic pain. The device was FDA approved for chronic pain in November 2019. Nevro touts its device as the first and only that is designed to deliver all frequencies from 2 […]
(Read more...)Camera Images Blood Perfusion at High Resolution Thanks to Pulse Oximeter
How blood moves throughout the body and into the smallest capillaries is hard to observe using existing imaging methods. Yet, poor blood perfusion can be an indicator for a variety of medical conditions, potentially serving as a diagnostic tool and a way to help manage diseases. Infrared thermography is a decent tool for this, but […]
RESPMETER Opioid Overdose Detector Wins FDA Breakthrough Device Status
Altair Medical recently announced that it received FDA Breakthrough Device status for its RESPMETER wearable biosensor. The biosensor is a chest-worn wireless sensor that can detect Opioid Indused Respiratory Depression (OIRD), a common and often fatal side effect of using opioid drugs. The biosensor monitors respiratory patterns and analyses them (Read more...)