Finally, a Wearable Neuromodulation Device for Overactive Bladder

As a urogynecology surgeon, Alexandra Haessler, MD, has seen firsthand the limitations of current overactive bladder (OAB) therapies. Aside from medication, the current gold standard for OAB is Medtronic's InterStim, an implantable sacral neuromodulation device that is FDA approved for the treatment of OAB as well as chronic fecal incontinence, and non-obstructive urinary retention. Haessler told MD+DI that the InterStim device works very well but it's an expensive treatment and access is limited because only a few subspecialists in any one metropolitan area are truly qualified to deliver the therapy. The InterStim is not rechargeable either, so it has to be explanted every few years. Once smartphones came into play and gave rise to digital healthcare options, Haessller envisioned the potential for a device-based solution that could be controlled by a patient's phone. "I thought 'oh, it will be so great when people make a neuromodulation device like InterStim but instead of being implanted in your back it's just worn in the vagina.' And I sort of assumed people would be working on that," she said. But years passed and nobody appeared to be working on a wearable neuromodulation device for OAB as she had envisioned. "So I decided to think harder about if I were to design this how would I do it and what would my targets be and whatnot," Haessler said. Ultimately she ended up filing a patent application for the underlying technology and founded FemPulse, a...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Business Source Type: news