For the first time in the Netherlands, a patient has received two implants in her head to treat chronic migraine. The woman received two strips under her scalp: one just above the eyes and one near the back of the head. The product comes from the Eindhoven-based company Salvia BioElectronics.
The idea is that the two strips will send out electrical signals for two hours a day and the migraine will stop. The solution is still being tested. The test patient had two incisions made above her ear. “The strip is simply pushed through”, says Professor Frank Huygen of Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, who performed the operation. “An instrument has been developed that allows you to do this very easily and without damaging anything. These incisions leave only very small scars on the side of the head.
Under the skin
The strips are just under the skin, on the occipital nerves and on a nerve just above the eyebrows. That is why it is so important that the is paper-thin, because of course there is very little space there. The patient then has to go about their daily life using a portable device. This is connected to the implant’s magnets on the head. The therapy is activated by pressing a button. The device then sends very small electrical signals to these nerves,’ says Hubert Martens of Salvia BioElectronics, developers of the method. “You don’t feel anything. All kinds of electrical signals go through your nervous system. This is what allows you to move, to feel, to function. In a condition like chronic migraine, these signals can be out of balance”.
“We try to restore that balance so that migraines are less frequent and less intense. Because the implant is very close to the nerves, it releases just the right amount of energy. This reduces the intensity of the migraine.
Neuromodulation
This therapy is called neuromodulation and has been around for a long time. It is used for many other diseases, such as Parkinson’s or epilepsy. “We are trying to develop a technology specifically for migraine,” he says. “Implantation of the strip is a prerequisite for it to work properly. You have to get very close to the nerves. There are products on the market that try to do it through the skin, but the skin is a barrier, so the amount of energy you need is not delivered to the right place. It doesn’t work as well”.
Funding
Salvia BioElectronics is the Eindhoven-based company behind the implant. The company, which employs 50 people, has raised €26 million in funding to develop and test the technology. The migraine therapy has been developed at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven since 2017. So far, it has been tested in Australia and Belgium. Thirty patients are trying it out. On Monday, a patient in the Netherlands became the first to walk around with the implant. “Of course we are very proud of that,” he says. In addition to Erasmus MC, the St. Antonius Hospital in Utrecht/Nieuwegein is also participating in the study.
“First, the product has to undergo extensive testing to prove that it works and is safe. It must also not bother people. We developed it so that you don’t feel it. That is why it is so thin”.
“This could be used all over the world. There are a huge number of people who suffer from chronic migraine. On average, one to two per cent of the world’s population. These are often people in the prime of their lives. Twenty, 30 to 40 years old, often women. If medication does not work well enough, they are left to their own devices”.
Migraine
“Migraine is much more than a headache. There are a lot more symptoms. The sad thing is that the most common therapy for severe migraines is locking yourself up in a dark bedroom. All stimuli are then too much and painful. Patients find it difficult to build a career. Sometimes they also have to choose not to start a family. It really has a huge impact on your life.”
The company hopes to bring the implants to market within now and five years.
Source: Studio040.nl
Translated by : Anitha Sevugan
