Most patients treated for chronic leg and back pain with Medtronic’s Intellis spinal cord stimulator with the Evolve workflow in the Vectors study showed improved symptoms and function.

The market for spinal cord stimulation (SCS) systems, used for treating chronic debilitating pain, is expanding relentlessly, and companies like Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Nevro are all vying to gain more market share with their respective technologies. At this year's annual meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) in Las Vegas, physicians were presented with the latest clinical evidence backing these innovations. This article looks at the overall SCS market, discusses study findings presented at NANS and the latest innovations. It also provides insights from two established pain management specialists on factors they think will drive SCS technologies forward.

Medtech Insight's Approvals Tracker reports 22 medical device approvals from outside the United States in November, including 12 CE marks from Europe, plus approvals from Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, India, Canada, Australia and Argentina.