Why the ENS works
Pain signals are sent to the brain through biochemical mediators, sending mild electrical impulses in the nervous system, from the point of pain to the brain1 (for more information about biochemical mediators, please see the link referenced below). Traditional TENs units work by sending their own electrical impulses to the area of pain and disrupting the nerves pain signals, tricking the brain into thinking that the biochemical electrical pain signals are just ‘electrical noise’ instead of pain.
Arctoro Medical’s Patent Pending Electronic Nerve Stimulator (ENS)’s Probe picks up on the biochemical build up at the source of pain which are sending the pain signals, and then ‘electronic pain circuit’ is completed between the Probe and the Electrode Patch. As this ‘electronic pain circuit’ is being completed, Arctoro Medical’s ENS measures the resultant current in milliamps (mA) and voltage. Once the ‘electronic pain circuit’, i.e. the source of pain is found, the ENS will test the validity by automatically raising the voltage and current, thus forming the positive sloping curve in both milliamps (mA) and voltage. If the source of pain in question is not valid, there will not be a run-up in voltage and milliamps.
The ENS’s Probe sends electrical pulses at the frequency which interacts with the biochemical electrical pain mediators. This enables an electrical connection between the probe and electrode patch to be completed at a lower current. It takes less current (mA) to begin the completed circuit on people with constant or chronic pain because the biochemical mediators build up over time at the source of the pain1. Arctoro Medical developed the ENS with the ability to adjust the current output by using an on-screen control. This is used to select a current (mA) level in which the patient can feel the ‘tingle’ of the electricity before proceeding with finding the source of pain test using the Electronic Nerve Stimulator.
References: 1. Pfizer|Lilly. About Chronic Pain Drivers (https://www.chronicpaindrivers.com/)
How the ENS Measures Pain
As people experience pain over a longer period of time, Biochemical Mediators build up and intensify, sending more pain signals to the brain1 (for more information about Biochemical Mediators, please see the link referenced below). Arctoro Medical’s Electronic Nerve Stimulator (ENS) Probe is designed to find these Biochemical Mediator build up points in the body and make an electronic connection between the Source of Pain and the area of the body where the pain radiates. If the pain does not radiate, the Doctor will place an electrode patch over a main nerve that branches off of the reported Source of Pain location.
Pain is unique to each individual as to how it feels and how they react to it. After the appropriate ‘target milliamp level’ is found, i.e. where the patient feels the tingling electricity, the probe moves over the source of pain and the output will be displayed by upward sloping graphs in milliamps and voltage on the screen of the ENS. This verifies the source of pain is found. The lower the milliamps needed to produce the upward sloping graph, the more biochemical mediators have built up in that spot and generally indicates a higher level of pain for the patient. Examples from real patients at varying levels of pain are as follows.
This ‘electronic pain’ correlation on people with chronic pain is manifested by the on-screen graph with the current (mA) being set at 3.5 mA or lower depending on the pain threshold of the patient and how severe their pain is. Most of the chronic pain patients that have been tested had their ‘electronic pain circuit’ completed at less than 2.5 mA when using the electrolytic gel and having the area that was tested warmed with a heating pad prior to the procedure.
The individuals tested with occasional pain had the pain circuit completed at 4 mA and higher after prepping the testing area as explained above. This occasional pain reading is similar to that during the healing process after a medical procedure such as surgery or successful application of Epidural Steroid Injections. As the procedure site heals, the current level needed to complete the ‘electronic pain circuit’ go up over time as the level of biochemical mediators and pain in that area decreases.
Similarly, people tested who actually do not have pain in the area being tested, will feel the tingling sensation from the Electronic Nerve Stimulator when the current is set to 4 mA or higher but there will not be an ‘electronic pain circuit’ completed. The ENS will not give an upward sloping graph of current and voltage, but the graph may show minor blips, caused by electronic noise. If a connection is made, it could be from the electrolytic gel bridging to the adhesive electrode and will be evidenced by a sharp vertical spike on the displayed graph. Additionally, the patient will not have any nerve related discomfort from the connection being made.
Due to the patent pending technology that is in Arctoro Medical’s Electronic Nerve Stimulator, doctors do not need to worry that a False Positive reading will occur from performing a Source of Pain Test. Therefore, when they have a positive reading for a patient’s pain, they can have physical proof backing up their decision to prescribe Narcotic Pain Medicine, if needed by the patient.
References: 1. Pfizer|Lilly. About Chronic Pain Drivers (https://www.chronicpaindrivers.com/)