Dual-Lead Nerve Stimulator Supports Pain Relief

A new dual-lead percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) system helps reduce chronic and acute pain in the back and/or extremities for up to 60 days.

The SPR Therapeutics (Cleveland, OH, USA) Sprint Extensa dual lead PNS system is comprised of a lightweight wearable stimulator and a threadlike, flexible coiled lead only 0.2 mm in diameter. The Sprint stimulator enables independent and efficient programming of stimulation parameters via Bluetooth connectivity, in order to deliver patient-specific, customized neurostimulation benefits, without requiring a permanent implant. Rechargeable batteries allow continuous stimulation delivery for the 60-day treatment period.

PNS is delivered via the MicroLead coiled lead, which is first placed percutaneously using a 20-gauge introducer, and then connected to the Sprint stimulator. Dual-lead capability allows two leads to be connected to a single wearable pulse generator. The lead has an open coiled structure with a barbed anchor at the distal end so as to reduce the risk of migration. The leads are placed during an outpatient procedure without surgery, incisions, tissue destruction, or anesthesia, and all device components are removed at the end of the treatment period.

“Our Sprint PNS platform is designed to deliver the least invasive and most user-friendly PNS therapy experience for physicians and their patients,” said Maria Bennett, founder, president, and CEO of SPR Therapeutics. “With the ease of use and dual lead capabilities we’ve built into the Sprint system, we look forward to advancing the early use of neurostimulation as a non-opioid alternative for more patients, while we continue to generate data that demonstrate significant and sustained pain relief following our 60-day therapy.”

“The Sprint PNS system provides a non-opioid therapy alternative that we have used successfully with many of our pain patients,” said Chris Gilmore, MD, of Carolinas Pain Institute in (Winston-Salem, NC, USA). “In my experience, most patients prefer a non-permanent, non-destructive, and non-surgical option for pain management when possible. The minimally invasive nature of the Sprint system allows us to introduce peripheral nerve stimulation therapy early in the care continuum, including its use in well-selected patients with back pain.”

PNS is a technique in which electrodes are placed along the course of peripheral nerves to control pain. Once the electrodes are in place, they are turned on to administer weak electrical currents to the nerve, experienced as a tingling sensation. By stimulating non-painful sensory pathway, the electrical current tricks the brain into attenuating pain signals (the so-called gate theory). PNS devices are an extremely safe, efficient, and effective way to ameliorate a variety of neuropathic pain conditions.

Related Links:
SPR Therapeutics