ANS receives Australian approval for rechargeable chronic pain system
6 October 2006 Plano, Texax, USA and Sydney, Australia. Advanced
Neuromodulation Systems (ANS), the neuromodulation business of St. Jude
Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ), has received regulatory approval from the
Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for its Eon rechargeable
neurostimulation system. In Australia, the Eon system is fully reimbursable
via the private health system. Patients at the Pain Management Research
Institute, Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, were among the first to
receive the Eon system. Pain Medicine Specialist Professor Michael Cousins,
M.D., who performed one of the first surgeries, said, “Eon was easy to
implant and the patients continue to gain substantial pain relief. With its
rechargeable battery, Eon is a good option for patients who require
high-power stimulation settings and need to use the system for a large
percentage of the day.” Eon delivers spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy
to treat chronic, intractable pain of the trunk and limbs, including pain
associated with failed back surgery syndrome. Similar to a cardiac
pacemaker, this “pacemaker for pain” uses mild electrical pulses from leads
selectively placed near the spinal cord to interrupt pain signals to the
brain.
Eon contains the highest-capacity rechargeable battery available, which
is designed to last a minimum of seven years at high-power settings. This
allows patients to go longer between battery replacement surgeries. The
rechargeable technology is easy for patients to understand and use – they
simply recharge the device periodically, similar to recharging a mobile
phone. Eon can power up to 16 independent electrodes, which allows
clinicians more programming options to better manage the patient’s pain.
“Approval of the Eon system provides physicians in Australia with a new tool
to combat chronic pain,” said Chris Chavez, president of ANS. “The full
power of the Eon system is realized when coupled with advanced clinician
programming features of Rapid Programmer 3.0, such as Dynamic MultiStim and
Active Balancing. Eon and this programming platform work together as an
integrated system to provide clinicians greater speed, precision and
effectiveness in addressing complex pain.” Chronic pain is a largely
under-treated and misunderstood disease that affects millions of people
worldwide. The World Health Organization, in conjunction with the
International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), reports that “One in
five people suffers from moderate to severe chronic pain, and one in three
is unable or less able to maintain an independent lifestyle due to pain.”
Spinal cord stimulators like Eon often allow patients to greatly reduce
their need for potent and potentially addictive pain medication. Eon was
approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2005. Approximately
25,000 patients in more than 25 countries around the world use ANS
neurostimulation devices to manage chronic pain. To top
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