Boston Scientific’s spinal cord stimulator technology in Santa Clarita announced its spinal cord stimulator is providing enhanced relief. The Precision Spectra device is providing 1.5 times better overall pain relief and two-times improved lower back pain relief than its earlier generation device. Results from the biomedical firm’s study were presented at the International Neuromodulation Society’s 12th World Congress in Montreal, Canada in June.
Boston Scientific launched the first rechargeable spinal cord stimulator in 2004. Many people who turn to spinal cord stimulation have had multiple surgeries, failed surgeries or exhausted all other options, Maulik Nanavaty, PhD and president of the Neuromodulation business unit, told the SCVBJ in 2013.
With the spinal cord stimulators, a set of wire leads are implanted under the skin near the spinal cord along with a small pulse generator, which responds to an external wireless remote control device controlled by the patient who can adjust electrical pulses to provide pain relief. Each wire lead can be individually controlled. The system also allows doctors to make adjustments to target areas where pain is felt; allowing doctors to customize the system to each patient.
The firm received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for its re-engineered 32 “CoverEdge”surgical wire leads, designed to blanket the spinal cord for unprecedented pain coverage, in October 2014.
Boston Scientific reported that 24 months after implant, pain sufferers reported a reduction in pain, on a 0-10 point pain scale, to 2.98, down from 7.17 prior to the implant.
Measuring relief 12 months after the implant, 72 percent of the recipients reported overall pain relief, 82 percent of leg pain sufferers found relief, and 71 percent of patients suffering from lower back pain experienced relief.
The biomedical firm’s Santa Clarita operation, which produced the spinal cord stimulators, also has a newer generation device approved for use in Europe. The Precision Novi Spinal Cord Stimulator, an enhanced device and battery, is the smallest high-capacity implant device currently available. It is not yet approved in the United States.