MEMS Sensor Will Assess Lower-Back PainMEMS Sensor Will Assess Lower-Back Pain
May 28, 2009
As the leading cause of adult disability, spinal conditions are widespread. An estimated 26 million people per year in the United States report suffering from back pain severe enough to cause them to seek medical care. To address back ailments, a sensor supplier and a device manufacturer are partnering to manufacture a MEMS sensor that will assess and treat mechanical lower-back pain.MEMSCAP (Research Triangle Park, NC), a supplier of MEMS-based products, and OrthoMEMS (Menlo Park, CA), a medical device company that develops biomedical applications for patented MEMS and wireless technologies from the Cleveland Clinic, will develop and commercialize the OrthoChip, a miniature batteryless wireless pressure sensor that will provide an objective measurement of spinal disk pressures. The sensor will detect pressure differences between normal and mechanically unstable spinal segments and communicate the results telemetrically to a readout unit. The technology is expected to provide indications for surgical and nonsurgical treatments.“OrthoMEMS is an attractive partner because of its strong business and scientific team and the significant commercial potential of its spine application," remarks Steven Wilcenski, general manager of the MEMSCAP custom products business unit. "This partnership is in line with our strategic commitment to be the lead manufacturer of MEMS in medicine.”“MEMSCAP has a clear track record of success in developing and manufacturing high-value-added MEMS sensors for medical use," states Douglas Lee, chairman and CEO of OrthoMEMS. "This strategic partnership adds real value across our full product cycle—from the design-in phase to the market launch of our ground-breaking product that changes the way clinicians interact with the human body.”
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