SPOC Device Is A Revolution In Pain Management

[Guest guest]

SPOC Device Is A Revolution In Pain Management

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/102584.php

A hand-held biomedical device by SPOC ( " s Proof of Concept " ),

developed jointly by students at s Institute of Technology and

pain-management expert Dr. Norman Marcus, has just received FDA 510K

clearance for manufacture and marketing as a clinical device.

The SPOC device itself, which began life as a s undergraduate

Senior Design Team project in 2004, has also spawned a start-up

company, SPOC, Inc., which is headquartered in Stamford, Conn.

Several young alumni from s are employed by the company, whose

tagline reads, " A Revolution in Pain Management. "

" This is a huge step forward for SPOC's device, SPOC the

Technogenesis® Company and s Institute of Technology as a

wellspring of great ideas, especially in the area of products that

emerge from our Biomedical Engineering program, " said Dr. Helena S.

Wisniewski, s' VP for University Research & Enterprise

Development, who is the presiding chair of the SPOC board. " This is a

testament to the entrepreneurial education environment at s

that we call Technogenesis, where ideas are taken the full cycle,

from laboratory innovation to marketplace realization, all the while

promoting undergraduate student collaboration in research and

development. "

SPOC, Inc. was formed in July 2005 at s by its University

Research & Enterprise Development office along with Dr. Marcus, and

three s undergraduate students in the Biomedical Engineering

program. SPOC's mission is to develop a proprietary point-of-care

medical diagnostic system, consisting of a medical device and

methodology that pinpoint the specific myofascial (muscle) trigger

points causing pain. SPOC's diagnostic system will benefit patients

by helping to eliminate treatments that prove to be ineffective, such

as surgical procedures, and by allowing physicians to locate more

effectively and to treat muscles that generate pain.

Since approximately 100 million people in the United States suffer

from chronic pain and approximately 80 percent of Americans suffer

from some form of pain in their lifetime, the potential market for

such a system is enormous.

" Connecticut Innovations is proud to be the lead investor in SPOC.

This important technology was spun out of the s Institute of

Technology by a team of young undergraduate students. Connecticut

Innovations took a risk when it provided start-up financing to the

team, " said Longo, president and executive director of

Connecticut Innovations, Incorporated. " This technological milestone

is significant in that it contributes greatly to the company's

ability to raise additional capital and ensure continued growth. "

" This is an important milestone, " Dr. Vikki Hazelwood, chief

executive officer of SPOC, commented. " We are pleased that SPOC has

been given a 501(k) clearance by the FDA, and we look forward to the

next goals in our plan. Dr. Marcus, Dr. Wisniewski, s, and the

alum team of Jeckin Shah, founding student, and Apruzzese - a

recent s graduate in Biomedical Engineering who joined the SPOC

team in 2007 - all deserve the highest praise for their continuing

efforts to bring such a needed disruptive-technology product to the

American market. "

Dr. Hazelwood also served as faculty advisor to the original

undergraduate design team of Jeckin Shah, Stellar and

Silva.

SPOC has received consistent national media attention during its

development and testing phases, most recently on the March 20, 2008,

edition of NBC's " Today, " where Dr. Marcus displayed and discussed

the potential of the device.

" What we have today is further confirmation of the success of

s' educational environment of Technogenesis, where creativity

and inventiveness are emphasized in finding solutions to critical

problems of industrial and national significance, " said s'

Provost & University VP P. Korfiatis. " We are especially proud

today of our young Biomedical Engineering program, whose students

have given the world this powerful biomedical tool that will

ultimately make its mark in the clinical marketplace. "