Intrathecal Implantable Drug Pump Helps Manage Pain

The Prometra programmable implantable drug pump uses pressure differentials in order to optimize accurate drug delivery, thus maximizing device dependability, reliability, and longevity by reducing the number of moving parts and eliminating complex gears and rotors. The Prometra also makes use of a patented valve-gated precision dosing system to achieve extremely high accuracy, minimizing dose variations due to temperature, pressure, flow rate, or reservoir fill levels. The combination of these factors is expected to contribute to improved pain management.

The pump is implanted near the spine and has a microcatheter that runs to the intrathecal area of the lower spine. The Prometra programmable implantable drug pump is a product of Medasys (Mt. Olive, NJ, USA), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use with INFUMORPH Solution, a narcotic pain reliever for the treatment of intractable chronic pain that works by dulling the pain perception center in the brain.

“We are pleased to be able to utilize our engineering expertise and intellectual property to advance intrathecal therapy in the United States,” said Steve Adler, President and CEO of Medasys. “Prometra represents the first significant evolution in pump technology available in the US in over 15 years.”

An intrathecal pump is an implantable drug delivery system that allows the patient to receive very precisely calibrated small doses of a pain-relieving drug directly via catheter to the intrathecal region. An implantable pump can reduce the dosage of pain medication by as much as 300 to 1. Although implantable intrathecal pumps are associated with higher upfront costs than drugs, over the long term they are cost effective when compared to oral therapies.

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