Transformative Therapies for Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: The Role of Transcutaneous Spinal Stimulation in SCI Care

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of ‘SCI Care: What Really Matters’ we focus on sharing information on the technological innovations in our field with a discussion about transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS).Our guest host for this episode is Dr Daniel Graves, Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the College of Rehabilitation Sciences and Vice-chairman of Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University's Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia. He is joined by Yi-Kai Lo, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of ANEUVO, the developers of ExaStim TSS. After working for many years in the electrical stimulation research field, Yi-Kai Lo realised there was a gap when it came to better technologies and tools for SCI patients, and he has made it his mission to bridge this gap by targeting the technology at this specific group of patients. Our second guest is Dr Rebecca Martin, OTR/L, OTD Manager of Clinical Education and Training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. Dr Martin previously worked as an occupational therapist before moving into research, motivated by the desire to find better treatment solutions for her patients.Together this panel discuss the role of transcutaneous spinal stimulation (TSS) in the SCI continuum of care, treatment goals for TSS, the current state of research, what patients are good candidates for TSS therapy and how to set expectations regarding patient outcomes, as it is important to manage patient expectations with this treatment, recognising that it is not a cure, but rather a complement to ongoing treatment and rehabilitation programmes.  There is still much to learn about the possible outcomes of TSS, but the early signs are promising, particularly in terms of those areas which are a high priority for patients, such as bowel and bladder function. Any improvement in these areas makes a real difference to patients’ quality of life.Listen to the full episode to learn more about developments in this research area.   The opinions of our host and guests are their own; ISCoS does not endorse any individual viewpoints, given products or companies. You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedInContact us directly with any questions or comments at [email protected]