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Session: Neurophysiology & Sleep
Session starts: Thursday 26 January, 10:30
Presentation starts: 11:15
Room: Room 530

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Sofia Cecchini (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Maurits Konings (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Joris Jaspers (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Jesse Bosma (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Sanne Banning (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Oda Heerema (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Luuk Evers (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)
Albert van Wijk (Department of Medical Technology and Clinical Physics, UMC Utrecht)

Abstract:
Chronic neuropathic pain is cumbersome, difficult to treat and it induces a dramatic loss of Quality-of-Life in many patients. It is caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction of the nervous system and it is often treated using analgesic drugs and other conventional medical management that can lead to serious side-effects (dependence, drowsiness) and to which patients are not always responsive. Therefore, many efforts have been taken to find an alternative. Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) has been proven to be the most effective in suppressing chronic neuropathic pain: an electric stimulation current is applied in proximity of the vertical dorsal columns of the spinal cord which entails pain mitigation, according to the “gate control theory”. Nevertheless, the current clinical SCS technique uses electrodes on a catheter that needs to be placed within the very vulnerable epidural space. This location is prone to infection, connective tissue formation and catheter migration. To overcome these drawbacks, a new concept (SNAP, Safe Neurostimulation Against Pain) has been formulated, in which the electrodes are placed on a clamp, securely and strongly anchored to the dorsal side of the thoracic vertebrae, and thus outside the risky epidural space. The design comprises a new multi-electrode system on a small, stand-alone, wire-shaped implant that takes advantage of the electrically insulating property of the bone tissue of the spinal cord as a means of projecting the electrical stimulation current into the target area in the spinal cord. The first in-vitro simulations have shown promising results: the applied field appears to target the correct region in the spinal cord without substantial electric current leakages towards outside the foramen vertebrae. Thus, from these preliminary data it seems possible to achieve a sufficient pain mitigation effect using our safe and minimally invasive approach.