Avacen Medical has received an innovation award for a dry heat device it invented to treat the pain that is widespread in fibromyalgia.
The global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan gave Avacen its European New Product Innovation Award for developing the Avacen 100. The consultant, which is based in the technology center of Mountain View, California, made the award after analyzing all of the fibromyalgia management devices that are available in Europe.
Frost & Sullivan presents the annual award to a company that uses cutting-edge technology to create an important product. In addition to technology consulting, it offers business strategy and other consulting services.
“The treatment of fibromyalgia remains challenging, and the underlying pathology is poorly understood,” Brahadeesh Chandrasekaran, an industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said in a press release.
“There is a need for alternative non-invasive treatments or adjunct therapy that can help alleviate pain in fibromyalgia patients,” he said. “Device-based therapies are important since a placebo-controlled study showed that fibromyalgia patients reported modest improvements in pain, tender points, fatigue, and sleep after electro-stimulation.”
Avacen sells the Avacen 100 in the United States to relieve arthritis joint pain and relax muscles.
Both the European Union and Canada approved the Avacen 100 this year for managing fibromyalgia pain. The EU bestowed its CE Mark on the device. Canada’s approval came from its regulatory agency, Health Canada.
The EU based its marketing approval decision on results of a clinical trial (NCT01619579) with fibromyalgia patients.
Researchers published the results n the journal Fibromyalgia under the title “Effects of a 4-week AVACEN Treatment on Pain Perception in Fibromyalgia: An Open Label Study.”
Avacen Medical said no patient has reported an adverse effect from the device after more than 2 million uses, underscoring that it is both safe and reliable.
“The AVACEN 100 is unique in that it is the only non-invasive OTC [over the counter] medical device available to alleviate the widespread pain in fibromyalgia patients on the market,” Chandrasekaran said. “As a result of its ability to increase microcirculation, it has gathered significant interest from not only pain management professionals but also other clinical specialists, such as those working in orthopedic, diabetes, and wound-healing specialties.”