Aug 27, 2013, (lacrossetribune.com)–A new version of a spinal cord implant to relieve back and other pain has the advantage of allowing a full-body MRI scan if needed later to detect other major health problems.
“The ability to get MRIs in the future is a big deal,” said Dr. Stephanie Neuman, a pain physician at Gundersen Health System who implanted the first of the new Medtronic devices in La Crosse on Tuesday. “It’s a great advantage for patients.”
The implant, called a spinal cord stimulator, involves “putting wires into the spinal canal to stimulate spinal cord nerve fibers to relieve pain,” Neuman said.
The first stimulator was implanted in 1967, but previous versions have not allowed full-body magnetic resonance imaging scans (MRI) because the wires could heat up and injure the patient, she said.Minneapolis-based Medtronic recently gained the approval of the federal Food and Drug Administration for its new models, which have a coating on the wires and batteries to prevent them from heating, Neuman said.
It is important to be able to do MRIs later because they can help diagnose and treat major health problems, including cancer, stroke and neurological issues.
MRIs offer more detailed images of soft tissue and nerves, while another type, called CT scan for computerized tomography, is used to obtain images of bone, Neuman said.
The spinal cord stimulators generally are used to relieve lower back and leg pain that may persist after back surgery and sometimes arm and neck pain, Neuman said.
The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., recently implanted the new version of the spinal cord stimulator, according to an official there.
Mayo Health System-Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse implants spinal cord stimulators that allow MRIs only on the head, said Andrea Becker-Schroeder, a registered nurse in Mayo’s physical medicine and rehabilitation department.
An estimated 60 million MRIs are performed worldwide each year, 10 million of them in the United States.
Source:http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/new-spinal-implant-allows-full-body-mris/article_ec025c5e-0f8a-11e3-9f33-0019bb2963f4.html
New spinal implant allows full-body MRIs
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