St. Jude Medical announced Monday that the medical device company has won Australian regulatory approval for a new neurostimulation lead delivery system to manage chronic pain.
Describing it as the first of its kind, the Little Canada, Minnesota company said that the Epiducer system affords physicians the ability to place multiple neurostimulation leads through a single entry point. It is designed to reduce procedural complexities as well as improve efficiency in placing neurostimulation leads for spinal cord stimulation therapy.
Before the Epiducer was introduced, physicians would have to place multiple percutaneous neurostimulation leads that required several small incisions. Further, implanting a paddle lead required a laminotomy, a more invasive surgical procedure that typically requires removal of part of the vertebral bone.
Managing chronic pain such as in the lower back often requires physicians to use more than one lead, or combine different types of leads such as percutaneous and surgical paddle leads.
“As pain physicians, if we can perform a simpler, less-invasive procedure while delivering the same degree of effective care, the patient benefits,” said Peter Courtney, a physician with the Melbourne Pain Group in Melbourne, Australia.
The Epiducer system is part of St. Jude Medical’s neuromodulation division, which also introduced the Eon Mini, the world’s smallest neurostimulator for chronic pain, in the U.S. three years ago. In the quarter ended April 2, that division’s sales increased 10 percent to $92 million, according to a earnings call hosted by St. Jude Medical, which makes new innovative medical devices.
