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FORNY20-FORNY2020

KVAL: BRINGING RELIEF - A NEW VAGUS NERVE STIMULATOR FOR CHRONIC PAIN

Alternative title: Relief: en ny vagusstimulator for kroniske smerter

Awarded: NOK 0.50 mill.

Project Number:

329734

Project Period:

2021 - 2022

Funding received from:

Organisation:

Location:

Chronic pain is beyond comparison our most costly and extensive health problem. What makes pain so insurmountable is the lack of any effective treatments for the majority of pain patients. Based on clinical research at Oslo University Hospital, we have discovered a new way of potentially alleviating chronic pain. Our invention, "The Relief", stimulates the vagus nerve in an innovative and unique way so that the behavior of the body's nervous system changes to alleviate pain. What is unique about "The Relief" is that it achieves this by using the body's own pain-relieving capacity. This grant has enabled a proof-of-concept that has demonstrated innovative properties and outperforms the most popular stimulators on the market in terms of stimulation delivery.

First and foremost, the innovations from this project will lead to significant improvements in the quality and reliability of taVNS stimulation. We have achieved and built a proof-of-concept of all main deliverables in the project. The validity of our hypotheses and value of our prototype was substantiated in subsequent tests performed at the bioimpedance lab in the Department of Physics, University of Oslo (UO). Using state-of-the-art bioimpedance test equipment and a strict protocol, we showed that our proof-of-concept the “Relief 1.0” was far superior market leaders in bioimpedance. Too high impedance means that a therapeutic current cannot be delivered with precision and safety.

Funding scheme:

FORNY20-FORNY2020