A Case Western Reserve University spinoff is developing a neurotechnology medical device for patients suffering from urinary problems due to spasms in the urethral sphincter.
Cleveland-area Conservocare is looking to continue animal testing of the device over the next year or so, and then file for regulatory approval to begin testing the device in humans, said Kenneth Gustafson, a Case biomedical engineering and Veterans Administration researcher who’s helping lead the project.
Urethral sphincter spasms often occur after spinal cord injuries. The spasms cause blockages that prevent the bladder from emptying of urine, and that can lead to problems like kidney failure or autonomic dysreflexia, a potentially life-threatening condition that causes abrupt onset of excessively high blood pressure.
One option for treating the condition is a sphincterectomy, which is likely even more unpleasant than it sounds. The operation helps the kidneys, but patients must live the rest of their lives with urine collection bags. Gustafson calls the operation “irreversible and not very satisfactory,” which is probably an understatement.
Conservocare’s device sends electrical signals to the nerve responsible for causing the spasms, which eliminates the spasms and allows the bladder to empty.
“Conceptually, it’s fairly simple,” Gustafson said.
Conservocare’s technology is similar to that of Neuros Medical — another Case spinoff, which is developing a pain-blocking device for amputees, according to Gustafson.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Researchers have been performing preclinical testing on the device for about seven years, so it’ll be a huge milestone if Conservocare progresses to human testing.
The company and the research it’s based on have thus far been financed by federal grants and Case’s translational research program that’s funded in part by the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation.
