Novel Closed Loop Spinal Cord Stimulator Advances Personalized Pain Management

An interventional pain management specialist at Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute is the first in Florida to implant a novel closed loop spinal cord stimulator (SCS) system designed to significantly reduce chronic, debilitating pain. Shehzad Choudry, MD, successfully implanted the innovative technology in the region’s first patient in May, immediately following the new stimulator’s approval to market. 

Medtronic’s Inceptiv™ closed loop SCS received FDA approval in April 2024 and has complete compatibility with the most advanced MRIs. The novel device tracks neuronal activity through sensing the stimulatory signal along specific nerves, monitoring biological signals 50 times per second and automatically adjusting stimulation in real time.

“As a large, impactful neuroscience program, we were able to receive the closed loop system early,” says Dr. Choudry. Board certified in neurology and pain management, he is part of the team at Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute. “This technology is exciting  because it offers an 85% success rate in reducing pain, and advances the treatment algorithm for those who are not  good candidates for surgery. It is also an option for patients when physical therapy, injections, medications and surgeries don’t provide the desired results.”

Conventional fixed-output SCS devices, in use since the 1970s, disrupt pain by delivering constant, mild electrical impulses. Certain movements, however, can result in transitory discomfort and suboptimal under- or overdosing as patients self-adjust stimulation. Closed loop technology resolves this issue with specialized circuitry and algorithms to detect evoked compound action potentials (ECAPs) instantly, and automatically adjust electronic stimulation.

“This system delivers a very personalized treatment to each individual,” says Dr. Choudry, who compares the technology to a car’s adaptive cruise control. “The device senses body position movements and makes appropriate stimulation adjustments.”

Closed loop SCS candidates include patients with low back or low back and leg pain who have failed conservative therapy, according to the interventional pain management specialist. “For those who have been told they have no other options, this offers a solution for improved quality-of-life outcomes,” says Dr. Choudry. “What excites me is that if I can get somebody to their child's graduation, playing with their grandkids or walking the parks again with markedly less pain, that’s a huge win.”

A high-volume program with exceptional outcomes, the Orlando Health Neuroscience Institute team of award-winning pain specialists focuses on advanced, minimally invasive treatments for a broad range of chronic conditions. Orlando Health is dedicated to revolutionizing cancer care with outcomes advanced by specialists skilled in the most leading-edge technologies and involved in advanced clinical research and training.