Need Relief from Pain Without Medicines? – Here’s How

Using a 1-millimeter-sized wireless implant to stimulate nerves has the potential to treat long-term pain resistant to drugs, according to a team of multi-institutional researchers. The findings are published in Nature Biomedical Engineering.

40% of people suffering from pain can be a disabling and often lead to anxiety, depression, and opioid addiction.

Previous research revealed that electrical stimulation is an effective treatment for reducing pain when doctors target the spinal cord and dorsal root ganglia (DRG), a bundle of nerves that carry sensory information to the spinal cord.

However, existing DRG stimulators require invasive surgery to implant a battery pack and pulse generator. To overcome this difficulty, researchers created implantable, wirelessly powered nerve stimulators that can be used in place of opioids for pain management.

The implants were roughly the size of a grain of rice – are small enough to be placed on stents and delivered within blood vessels adjacent to specific areas of the central and peripheral nervous system.

With this new type of technology, the researchers say they have found a way to perform minimally invasive bioelectronic therapy that helps with more precise placement of the implant and more predictable outcomes.

Advertisement

More long-term studies are needed to ensure this approach is safe and that the device can stay in the body for a long time without causing problems.

Advertisement

Source-Medindia