Saluda Medical, a firm spun off from the digital research body National ICT Australia, has been granted a further $10 million of private venture capital for its new spinal cord simulator device, which automatically adjusts the signal strength as the user moves.

There is nothing new about spinal cord stimulators, which have been around since the 1970s; an electrode inserted into the epidural space delivers electrical stimulation that blocks out pain.

However, until now, wearers had to manually adjust the signal whenever they lay down, started to walk, turned right or left — or changed their posture.

Robert Gorman, senior clinical project manager at Saluda Medical, said patients typically ended up turning down the level of stimulation permanently, so as not to over-stimulate their spinal cord, but they never enjoyed the appropriate level of pain relief. The new device records the electrical response in the nerves to the signal, which allows it to automatically calibrate the signal strength.

Dr Gorman says Saluda Medical is the only company to automatically control the level of stimulation, adding that the new funding will be used to fulfil regulatory requirements before beginning clinical trials in the USA. The company aims to bring the stimulator to market in three or four years’ time.