Patients who suffer from chronic pain will soon have an option of pain mitigation, thanks to a new wireless implantable chronic pain management device being developed by A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME) and local biotechnology firm Biospark Technologies Pte Ltd (Biospark).
Neurostimulators are surgical implants which can be a long-term solution for patients suffering from pain as a result of injury, surgery or health conditions. Neurostimulators trigger mild electrical signals to block pain signals from reaching the brain and are effective in relieving chronic pain. Patients will only feel a tingling or numbing sensation instead of constant pain. However, such devices function on batteries, and every few years, the patients require additional surgery to replace the batteries.
