Stratus Medical, LLC., located in Salt Lake City, Utah, announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a pair patents for its Nimbus® RF Multitined Expandable Electrode for radiofrequency ablation procedures.
Patents Issued for Novel Radiofrequency Ablation System
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Radiofrequency ablation is a technique that uses electromagnetic energy, in the radio frequency (RF) in this case, to generate heat to ablate nerves that are causing pain. It is used to treat pain in several anatomical areas, including spine and orthopedics, such as the genicular nerves near the knee. The patents now add to the company’s growing portfolio which previously included over a dozen patents outside of the U.S. It still has another dozen patents pending globally. One of the pair issued recently is specifically for the use of the new electrode for spinal neurotomy.
“We see great opportunity to help patients suffering from chronic pain and improve quality of life as interventional pain medicine physicians expand their utilization of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) to treat pain in the spine, knee and sacroiliac joint,” said Stratus Medical CEO Bret Boudousquie. He continued to share his excitement for the protections offered by the new patents, “We are pleased to secure these new patents to protect our proprietary Nimbus technology as procedural protocols shift from traditional RFA needles to the Nimbus device, which provides a large volume lesion with the goal to improve patient outcomes. Nimbus is rapidly building market share due to its numerous clinical advantages over other large volume lesion RFA options, including faster procedure times and lower cost.”
As its name implies, the Nimbus RF multitoned expandable electrode has two tines that can be deployed and spread apart after insertion. This allows the device to create up to a 10mm lesion (up to 601mm3 in volume) as a bipolar electrode that can be inserted percutaneously, which is often difficult with traditional bipolar electrodes that typically look like a pair of forceps. The Nimbus does not require a dispersive electrode, and the radiofrequency is primarily contained between the electrodes, preventing potential issues with implanted electrical devices, such as pacemakers or stimulators.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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