According to St Jude Medical, the Epiducer lead delivery system allows introduction of S-Series perc-paddle leads as well as multiple lead arrays through a single percutaneous entry point.
The lead delivery system is designed to reduce procedural complexities. The Epiducer system allows physicians to place neurostimulation S-Series perc-paddle leads and/or multiple lead arrays utilised in spinal cord stimulation (SCS) therapy for the management of chronic pain.
Before the Epiducer system, the placement of paddle leads was only possible through a laminotomy, a more invasive surgical procedure, which requires removal of part of the vertebral bone.
Neurostimulation therapy is used for managing chronic pain of the trunk and limbs and pain from back surgeries that have failed. A paddle lead is a small insulated wire with multiple electrodes on a flat paddle-shaped surface that is placed in the epidural space near the spine.
Mild electrical pulses are carried from the neurostimulator to the lead’s electrodes to interrupt or mask the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Electrodes on the lead can be programmed to meet each individual patient’s needs.
Chris Chavez, president of St Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division, said: “We are pleased to provide physicians with this next-generation lead delivery system. The Epiducer system is redefining percutaneous procedures, presenting physicians with a unique, new option to place leads and reduce procedural complexities.”
Olivier De Coster, an anesthesiologist and head of the Pain Clinic at the Stedelijk Ziekenhuis Hospital in Roeselare, Belgium, said: “One of this system’s advantages is that it enables a physician to introduce a perc-paddle lead into the epidural space with a simpler, less invasive procedure. Paddle leads provide numerous therapy benefits including greater stability for reduced risk of migration and more efficient unidirectional stimulation.”
