Nilesh Patel, MD, vice president of medical affairs for Boston Scientific, discusses the Company’s latest research and innovation in neuromodulation in an interview with SmartTRAK.
With the US launch of the WaveWriter Alpha portfolio of spinal cord stimulation systems, fast-acting sub-perception therapy (FAST) and the Cognita suite of digital solutions, Boston Scientific is expanding the boundaries of pain therapy and fueling a new era of personalization using advanced analytics to identify, predict and intervene early in a patient’s pain. Nilesh Patel, MD, vice president of medical affairs at Boston Scientific (BSX), discusses these advances and more from the virtual NANS 2021 meeting in an interview with SmartTRAK.
To listen to the interview, recorded live via Uberconference, click on the following video. Read on to find out how to receive a transcript of the complete interview.
Anne Staylor here with BioMedGPS. Today. I have the pleasure of speaking with Nilesh Patel, MD, the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Boston Scientific. Dr. Patel, thanks so much for talking with me today.
Nilesh Patel, MD: Thank you for having me.
With the virtual format, NANS 2021 was unusual, but it was still jam-packed with innovation and research. The last time I talked to you at NANS 2020, we had a lot to talk about. The company had a lot of initiatives focused on improving the SCS experience, the trial success rates, patient outcomes. So I want to find out where you're at with some of those initiatives, but first I want to start broadly and just ask you what was the top news for Boston Scientific at the virtual NANS 2021?
NP: We are excited to launch our WaveWriter Alpha portfolio of SCS systems to really a new era of personalization and provide uncompromising access to the full range of FDA-approved drug-free therapies for chronic pain patients.
The WaveWriter Alpha launch has three components for us. The first of this is the largest full-body MRI conditional IPGs, rechargeable and non-rechargeable, as well as 16 and 32 contacts. What this means for patients is that there is minimal potential for adverse effects if the patient needs a diagnostic test such as an MRI (under defined conditions). The second component for us is that for the first time in paresthesia-free spinal stimulation, we're able to provide profound pain relief within minutes. This is important because historically it took one to three days to have the full effect and for paresthesia-free therapy to wash in. But now the patient can leave the clinic knowing full well that the therapy is working and it's working very well.
And then the third component for us was the Cognita suite of digital solutions. We know that there are 19.6 million Americans with chronic high-impact pain, pain that affects function and activities of daily living. But most of these patients and their primary care providers are not aware of the advances in drug-free, FDA-approved therapies. As a result, we have failed historically to identify these patients, to manage them and to maintain the therapy. The Cognita suite of digital solutions addresses that so that we can identify the patients and manage them effectively and maintain the therapy in the long run, which is critical.
WaveWriter? What is the difference between the Spectra platform and the new WaveWriter Alpha platform?
NP: There are impacts on hardware, there are impacts on therapy, and there are impacts with regards to digital solutions. So on the hardware side, all the treatments that we have, the entire range of therapies, whether it's paresthesia-based or sub-paresthesia, are now available on both the ...
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