Bioness, a provider of advanced, clinically supported medical devices chronic pain, announced the first successful implantation of its StimRouter Neuromodulation System in Australia at Nambour Selangor Private Hospital.
Image: Chronic pain impacts 27% of adult Australians, which costs the country more than $34 billion Australian dollars each year. Photo: Courtesy of osteoclinic from Pixabay.
Manufactured by Bioness, Inc. and distributed in Australia by Algotec Research and Development, the StimRouter is now being offered by leading health systems and medical providers in Australia, Canada, the United States and Europe, giving thousands of patients a minimally invasive, patient-controlled option for treating chronic pain of a peripheral nerve origin.
Chronic pain impacts 27% of adult Australians, which costs the country more than $34 billion Australian dollars each year. Pain Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist, Doctor Peter Georgius says, “Chronic pain is one of the highest causes of health expenditure and loss of time of any medical condition, so it has a significant impact in our society. It also has a major impact on a patient’s quality of life and it can result in social withdrawal.”
A cost-effective alternative to prescription opioids, nerve blocks, and more invasive treatments, such as spinal cord stimulation, the StimRouter has been approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA) and is a minimally invasive, long-term neuromodulation stimulator for chronic pain. The device is designed to reduce pain by delivering gentle electrical pulses to stimulate the affected nerve, which disrupts pain signals before they reach the brain. Patients wear an external patch that generates power to the device, which they operate using a small wireless programmer.
“The StimRouter has been helping patients in the US, Europe, and Canada manage their chronic pain and move forward with their lives. Now Australian patients can experience the same improvements in their quality of life,” says Todd Cushman, President and CEO at Bioness. “Chronic pain can be debilitating and isolate patients from work, family, and activities of daily living. The StimRouter has the potential to meet a significant unmet medical need by providing a unique solution – putting the patient in charge of their customized therapy without having to travel to the doctor’s office for multiple visits.”
The StimRouter has been used by many types of patients, including those who have chronic pain due to stroke, accident, or trauma. Fifty-seven-year-old Lindsay was the first patient in Australia to be implanted with the StimRouter. He’s suffered from constant debilitating groin and testicular pain since the age of 13 and has undergone five surgeries and tried numerous pain medications—all of which failed to provide any long-term relief.
“[The StimRouter] provides us with new options, in the past they were very limited, so it just adds to our tool kit of procedures and devices,” Dr. Georgius said.
Source: Company Press Release.