The word on TheStreet is that all the big players are buying up neurostimulation devices:
St. Jude, which makes pacemakers, implanted defibrillators and other medical devices, will gain Advanced Neuromodulation‘s low-voltage stimulation devices that are used to treat chronic pain and nervous system disorders…
Over the summer, Medtronic bought privately held medical device company Transneuronix for its experimental Transcend device, which is designed to treat morbid obesity by sending electric pulses to the stomach.
Meanwhile, in July, the Food and Drug Administration approved Cyberonics‘ vagus nerve stimulation therapy implanted device for use in treatment-resistant depression. The VNS system was already cleared to treat epilepsy.
We blogged about the Transcend device back in July, as well as the Kinetra and SynergyPlus+ (the second ‘plus’ is silent). We look forward to seeing more of these stimulating devices hit the market.
More from St. Jude (just named 2005’s medical device company of the year)…