Ioannis Skaribas, MD, has implanted the first Protégé upgradeable neurostimulator by St. Jude Medical in the Houston area.
Here are five things to know about the device:
1. St. Jude Medical's Protégé spinal cord stimulator is intended for alleviating chronic pain and is the first neurostimulation system that can be upgraded without the need of a surgical replacement of the device. It received pre-market approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April.
2. The SCS implantation procedure was performed at Houston Methodist West Hospital. "This device is what a pacemaker is to a cardiac patient. This is pretty much a pacemaker for the spinal cord that paces the spinal cord to modulate the way it transmits pain signals, therefore reducing pain," said Dr. Skaribas in a news release.
3. Amit Darnule, MD, of Southlake-based Spine Team Texas, was the first physician in the Greater Fort Worth area to implant the Protégé system earlier this month. Dr. Darnule is an anesthesiologist, fellowship-trained in chronic pain management.
"With this new technology, we now have better options for treating spine pain. The advanced technology and ability to upgrade without surgery will better address current spinal cord stimulation therapy challenges with limited risk or inconvenience to the patient," said Dr. Darnule in a news release.
4. The Protégé spinal cord stimulator fits within the $2 billion pain management device market, which is expected to reach $5 billion by 2018. The global neurostimulation device market is expected to grow to nearly $4.1 billion by 2018, according to a recently released report by BCC Research, and the largest segment in the overall market is the chronic pain category, which is projected to reach $2.8 billion by 2018.
5. St. Jude Medical reported a 4 percent increase in adjusted net earnings per share and 9 percent increase on a constant currency basis for the first quarter of 2014. The company had four new product approvals in the first half of the year, which the company expects to accelerate sales during the second half. Net sales were $1.3 billion during the first quarter, a 2 percent increase over the same period last year. However, unfavorable foreign currency translation comparisons meant a $25 million decrease in first quarter sales.
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