NeuroTherm, Inc. New StimJect RF Cannula Improves Accuracy and Reduces Procedure Time

MIDDLETON, Mass., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- NeuroTherm, Inc., a global leader in radiofrequency generators for chronic pain management, introduces the StimJect RF Cannula designed to reduce procedure time and increase treatment accuracy of radiofrequency therapy.

The StimJect RF Cannula is a typical hollow RF needle, but it also incorporates a sideport that allows injection of a numbing agent without removing the stimulating electrode from the cannula. This ensures that the cannula remains at the proper position for treating the nerve.

"The RF cannula should be in close proximity to the painful nerve for best results," says Laurence Hicks, NeuroTherm's president and CEO. "Each time the cannula is touched, however, the physician increases the chance that it will be re-positioned, for better or worse. And to numb the nerve before lesioning, the physician must touch the cannula. However, once the nerve has been numbed, the physician can no longer verify needle location through nerve stimulation."

As a result, NeuroTherm designed the StimJect RF Cannula to eliminate the opportunity for unintentionally repositioning the cannula, an action that might occur after the physician has achieved satisfactory placement near the painful nerve. The cannula's special sideport allows the physician to touch only the injection tubing rather than the cannula as a whole.

Hicks explains that, during an RF procedure, physicians first insert the cannula into the patient, then introduce a probe, or electrode, into the cannula's hollow interior. The electrode is attached to a radiofrequency generator, which transmits an RF signal down to the nerve. The physician will apply a low-voltage signal to stimulate the nerve to verify appropriate cannula location. The lower the voltage for this signal, the closer to the nerve the RF cannula has been placed.

However, before continuing to radiofrequency lesioning, the nerve must be numbed. Without a StimJect RF Cannula, the physician would have to remove the electrode from the cannula, then attach a syringe to the needle for injection. After the injection, the physician would re-introduce the electrode.

"The injection phase of the procedure can result in shifting the RF cannula away from the tested, satisfactory location," Hicks says. "Because the nerve has been numbed, the physician has no way to determine if the new location is just as acceptable for a treatment site. The StimJect RF Cannula eliminates this concern."

Hicks points out that the radiofrequency-caused lesion occurs in a small area around the active tip of the cannula. Moreover, RF cannulae have active tips of 15 mm or less, which means their proximity to the nerve must be precise. "Any unintentional movement of the cannula away from the nerve site will lessen the effectiveness of treatment," he says.

Using the StimJect RF Cannula also may reduce procedure time, Hicks adds. The physician no longer needs to remove then re-insert the electrode before and after the injection. "All physicians have to do is attach the syringe to the sideport tubing. Thus, the StimJect RF Cannula allows the physician to be more efficient in treating patients."

The StimJect RF Cannula will be distributed worldwide by NeuroTherm's wide network of distributors, with the exception of Japan.

NeuroTherm, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of radiofrequency generators and related consumables used in the treatment of chronic pain. The company recently introduced the NT1000, the world's first RF generator capable of producing three lesions simultaneously. NeuroTherm also pioneered the development and use of disposable electrodes in the U.K. market.

NeuroTherm is based in Middleton, MA., with another facility outside London, England. The company was formed in September 2005, as a concurrent acquisition of RDG Medical in the U.K., and RF Medical and Precision Medical Engineering in the U.S. by Cortec Group Fund III, L.P., an affiliate of Cortec Group, Inc. Additional information about NeuroTherm can be found on the Internet at http://www.neurotherm.com.

CONTACT: Spiro Mandylor, Global Marketing Manager, of NeuroTherm, Inc.,+1-888-655-3500, spiro@neurotherm.com

Web site: http://www.neurotherm.com/