The FDA has cleared Myoscience, Inc.’s latest tip to allow surgeons using the company’s iovera° targeted cold therapy platform to access nerves in the shoulder, hip, and knees.
The company’s CEO, Cary Vance, said on March 5, 2018, the expanded 510(k) clearance for the Smart Tip with Nerve Stim, expands their technology in “existing call points.” He added, “In addition to our continued commercial focus on reducing opioid use through the use of iovera° technology for treating perioperative pain due to total knee arthroplasties (TKA) and chronic pain, the Smart Tip with Nerve Stim will allow physicians to treat harder to reach areas and complete procedures more quickly and efficiently.”
The company says the system uses “precision targeting and the body’s natural response to cold for immediate relief without the use of drugs.”
The treatment stops nerves from sending pain signals for a period, followed by a restoration of function. It does this by applying targeted cold to a peripheral nerve. “A precise cold zone is formed under the skin—cold enough to immediately prevent the nerve from sending pain signals without causing damage to surrounding structures. The effect on the nerve is temporary, providing pain relief until the nerve regenerates and function is restored,” according to the company.
Pieter Vreede, M.D., of Riverview Health System in Noblesville, Indiana, has been using iovera° technology for the last several months and says he is “thrilled” with the outcomes he has seen thus far. “With this new tip I look forward to providing another non-opioid and non-systemic pain option for my patients suffering from shoulder pain and deep knee pain.”
The system includes a small, hand-held device that uses disposable tips to deliver focused cold to targeted nerves and is powered by the Focused Cold Therapy delivery system, a patented miniaturization of traditional cryotherapy.
The company was founded in 2005, is privately held and located in Silicon Valley, California.
It’s about time that Insurance companies recognized cold therapy as an alternative to opioids. My husband used a polar ice machine after knee scope surgery, and it helped tremendously. Cigna calls it experimental and will not cover the cost – atlmost $5,000/
Had it done and the pain was
All back in 24 hours. Extremely disappointed
Sorry yours did not work Lori. My husband had an Iovera injection 5 days prior to his TKR. The pain in his knee was COMPLETELY gone, 30 minutes after the injection and helped his post-op tremendously. He is now, 4 1/2 months post-op and the injection began wearing off around the 3 month mark and was a GODSEND!