RFID technology for treatment of chronic pain

Filed in archive Healthcare , Information About on May 19, 2009

A day would come when you won't have to depend on pain killers, injections and stimulators for treatment of your chronic head injury. This may sound untrue at the moment but it could become a possibility in the near future. MicroTransponder is developing a novel device to take care of your pains. This device which includes a tiny injectable implant is expected to replace large neural stimulators deployed for treatment of chronic pain. This is a wireless device from MicroTransponder and operates without any batteries. The implanted portion comprises of small electrodes and coil powered by external battery source. The device will be customized as per the needs of each and every patient with stimulation parameters being programmed via PDA or laptop.

Here RFID technology is deployed and radio waves are transmitted by the external coil for generation of magnetic field in the internal coil which lends strength to the electrodes. The device works very much like the spinal cord stimulators deployed for treatment of chronic pain as it functions behind the notion that electrical jolts tend to override the neural pain signals being transmitted to the spinal cord but the mechanism is still not clear. The research is still at the initial stages and the prototype device is already being tested on rats. It has been found to stimulate peripheral nerves in case of rats but its still not obvious whether electrical stimulation can ease chronic pain or not. In case the tests don't lead any conclusive results this RFID Pain Relieving Device could still be put to other uses such as treatment of tinnitus, a common problem among people who have suffered head injuries.