Success of neurostimulation device to manage pain
This article accompanies our April cover story announcing the winner of the 2009 Test Engineer of the Year Award.
Rick Nelson, Editor in Chief -- Test & Measurement World, 4/1/2009 2:00:00 AM
Pain has been a constant throughout human history, as have efforts to ameliorate it, as outlined in “A history of pain treatments.” A recent innovation is neruostimulation, as implemented by St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division with its Eon Mini rechargeable neurostimulator. Test & Measurement World’s April 2009 cover story ("Test tenacity dirves neurostimulator success") recounts some of the engineering effort that went into the device’s development, with a particular focus on the work of senior test engineer Eddie Abshire, whose success earned him Test & Measurement World’s Test Engineer of the Year award for 2009.
But the evidence of success of the Eon Mini device lies not in awards garnered by the engineers involved in its development but rather in the successful application to patients. And on September 17, 2008, St. Jude Medical announced the first patient implant of the device. The recipient was 26-year-old Adam Hammond, is a former member of the US Army Golden Knights parachute team (www.usarec.army.mil/hq/goldenknights/). Hammond was skydiving while on leave in 2006 when his parachute did not deploy correctly. He hit the ground in excess of 45 miles an hour.
“As soon as I hit the ground, I thought, ‘God, please don’t let me die,’” said Hammond, of Chillicothe, OH, whose numerous injuries included a broken femur, shattered pelvis and a severed spine. He spent the next two years undergoing multiple surgeries and physical therapy, but chronic pain from his injuries impacted his rehabilitation.
“Neurostimulation helps us control Adam’s pain so he can continue his rehabilitation and decrease his pain medications,” said Tim Deer, MD, president and CEO, Center for Pain Relief in Charleston, WV. “Our main goal is to use spinal-cord stimulation to help him return to his everyday activities and become a vital part of society again.”
“I already have significant pain relief,” said Hammond. “I’m now able to walk twice as far, and I recently went to the movies with my best friend. It feels good to start getting my life back.”
For more information on pain treatment, visit www.PowerOverYourPain.com.
To see video demonstrations and animations related to the Eon Mini device, you can visit the Eon Mini media center (www.sjm.com).
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Very well researched, very interesting and informative, would like to reaserch more about this topic. Keep posting.
Neurostimulation Market - 2009-24-8 09:09:00 EDT
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