Market Opportunity
Already at $1.5 billion-plus and growing at a 20% clip, the market for neurostimulation devices represents one of the most compelling emerging opportunities in the medical device arena. Neurostimulation is currently in use for a set of conditions that include chronic pain, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and incontinence. Assuming growth continues at a 20% rate (a conservative estimate since it does not incorporate emerging neurostimulation applications), the market for these devices could double by 2010.
New applications with large patient pools (e.g., depression, chronic migraine, stroke and obesity) are making good progress through the pipelines. With these new applications, some estimate that the neurostimulation opportunity could exceed the $8 billion market for cardiac rhythm management devices (e.g., pacemakers and defibrillators).
Favorable market dynamics overall add to a bright industry outlook. The technology is now advanced and readily applicable to emerging applications. Clinical data are available for some applications, while physician awareness is high and reimbursement is in place at reasonable levels. An aging U.S. population adds traction to the largest consumer base for medical devices in the world, the U.S. market.
Victhom’s Bionized™ CLS: Addressing the Opportunity
Victhom has developed a solid neurosensing and neurostimulation expertise which will now serve the development of both open and closed-loop implantable control systems. More specifically, the Bionized™ CLS is a platform that integrates peripheral nerve sensing and stimulation technologies with artificial intelligence in order to address physiological and anatomical dysfunctions.
This unique platform features real-time interaction with the peripheral nervous system. It has the ability to sense and modulate the sensory and motor nerve signals selectively. This innovative platform also benefits from the full integration of nerve sensing and stimulation in a single device.
Victhom is currently working on specific modules required by such a system, such as user interface, two-way communication, power transmission, controller unit, signal conditioning and processing, sensors and mechanical hardware. Scientific and engineering activities are addressing the design of specific modules that will serve in both open and closed-loop applications.
The Bionized™ CLS can be tailored to meet specific requirements for the development of new treatments for clinical applications such as obesity, sleep apnea, stroke and many others. The closed-loop capabilities can transform existing neurostimulation technologies into truly intelligent therapeutic systems.
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