30/07/2025
“I can sleep, which is new, because I was not able to do that for a long time. Moreover, I don’t worry anymore about having to plan my life around what’s going to make my pain worse."
Dr Ashish Gulve, clinical lead and consultant in pain medicine, has become the first clinician in the world to fit 100 devices that have helped patients like Sarah Stavers to ‘feel like a human being’ again.
He and his team have marked the achievement of fitting 100 modern devices that have helped drastically reduce chronic pain for patients – celebrating a milestone in spinal cord stimulation.
Inceptiv™ is a tiny surgically implanted device that has two wires inserted in the spine, close to the nerves responsible for carrying pain signals.
It sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to disrupt pain signals before they reach the brain.
Once fitted, the device is able to deliver multiple waveforms and can detect signals from the spinal cord and automatically adjust the strength of the impulses accordingly.
When it senses the patient’s movement, such as when they cough, sneeze, strain, or bend over, it automatically adjusts itself to avoid painful shocks and improve pain relief.
Ever since introducing this device at James Cook and Friarage Hospitals, patients like Sarah Stavers have seen their pain drastically reduce and credit it for changing their lives.
Read more: https://www.southtees.nhs.uk/news/worlds-first-as-clinician-makes-spinal-cord-stimulation-history/
