Novel Neuromodulation Device Treating Cerebral Palsy

Image credit: SpineX

While Australia can now lay claim to having the lowest rate of cerebral palsy at birth in the world (2023 Australian Cerebral Palsy Register Report), it remains the country’s most common childhood physical disability.

Two recent peer-reviewed papers, both published in Frontiers from medtech, SpineX show promising results relating to their novel spinal cord neuromodulation device for improving the lives of children with cerebral palsy.

Known as Spinal Cord Innovation in Pedatrics (SCiP) technology, the device “acts as a hearing aid for the spine” – targeting abnormal connectivity between the brain and spinal cord to enable greater muscle movement control.

“Thanks to this research, we can now confidently say that consistent, ongoing noninvasive spinal cord neuromodulation results in demonstrable improvement of sensorimotor function in children with Cerebral Palsy,” said SpineX Chief Executive Officer, Parag Gad in a press statement.

For nine-year-old trial participant, Annika the SCiP technology has been a “gamechanger”, having seen significant improvements following two therapy sessions.

“When she started her first series of therapy sessions, we saw almost immediate results. She went from using a walker or crutches almost exclusively to standing up straighter and using just one crutch/walking stick… [and] has also begun to walk independently in our home,” said Annika’s mother, Jessica Oldham in a statement.

“This is a very large piece of the puzzle; we saw more positive change in our daughter over the two courses of SCiP therapy than we did in the first seven years of her life… [she is] literally taking bigger steps all the time.”

SpineX plans to commence multicentre pivotal clinical trials from next year, following which it will then seek regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.

For more details and to access the papers published in Frontiers, refer to the SpineX website.