Aug 9, 2016
Medtronic ($MDT) has earned a CE mark for its SureTune2 software. The tech offers physicians patient-specific visualizations which help them to “tune” a patient’s deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy.
DBS therapy is a targeted treatment that offers specific symptom control through mild electrical stimulation in the brain. “The brain targets are stimulated through lead(s) inserted into the brain and connected to an implantable neurostimulator through extensions running under the skin,” Medtronic explained in the announcement. “A medical professional uses an external programmer to set and adjust stimulation settings.”
Having to manually program settings can be a time-consuming process. Medtronic’s SureTune2 aims to alleviate some of the frustrations of this process. Using visualization of patient-specific information, SureTune2 works along with Medtronic DBS therapy and other DBS therapy systems to select the best stimulation settings for a patient.
The visualizations offer up a comprehensive view which includes anatomy, physiology and calculated stimulation field. Using a greyscale threshold within a region of interest, users can segment structures.
"[SureTune2] simplifies the trial and error process associated with DBS programming by helping me identify the best contacts, which saves me time,” said Jens Volkmann, chairman and professor of neurology at the University Clinic of Würzburg.
Lothar Krinke, the vice president and general manager of the brain modulation business in Medtronic’s Restorative Therapies Group, noted in the announcement that SureTune shows how committed Medtronic is to “providing integrated solutions for improving accuracy and confidence from surgery to post-operative DBS patient management."
Medtronic’s DBS therapy has been used by over 140,000 patients worldwide to help with disabling symptoms of essential tremor, Parkinson’s disease and dystonia. While Medtronic’s DBS therapy system is approved in many locations throughout the world, SureTune2 is not yet approved in the United States.
http://www.fiercebiotech.com/medical-devices/medtronic-earns-ce-mark-for-deep-brain-stimulation-software
No comments:
Post a Comment