The medical device innovator Dolor Technologies today announced the U.S. availability of its patented, breakthrough drug delivery catheter, SphenoCath. SphenoCath is a single-use, disposable catheter that delivers medication through the nasal passages to a difficult-to-reach ganglion located at the back of the nose without needles, sprays, swabs or sedation.

 

When used as indicated, SpenoCath saturates and sustains the medication immediately proximate to the ganglion to achieve a Sphenoplatine Ganglion or SPG block. Interventional radiologists, neurologists, internists, emergency departments and pain specialists are interested in utilizing SphenoCath for a safe, comfortable and quick delivery of the medication required for the SPG block procedure.

 

The drug delivery innovation, SphenoCath, is drawing the attention of physicians who treat patients with chronic and episodic migraine, cluster headache, and chronic daily headache and for other applications. The SPG blocks have been studied for many disorders for over a century. More recently however, the block has been associated with profound neuromodulation of the SPG complex, resetting the chaotic signaling associated with chronic migraine with both immediate and sustained results.

 

Though widely accepted as effective, few physicians are willing to perform an SPG block because the traditional procedures are uncomfortable for the patient and demanding for the caregiver. Formerly, the block was attempted by navigating a cotton tip applicator through the nasal passages, by atomizing a spray or with a long needle through the side of the head. These older approaches carry risks, sometimes require sedation and may not be effective in all patients. Steven Eror, the Company’s CEO, remarked, “We expect that the comfort, ease of use and precision delivery of the SphenoCath innovation will dramatically expand interest in SPG block by physicians who want to use the block to treat patients with headache pain and other disorders.”

 

Headache alone affects nearly 45 million individuals, and migraine occurs in 6.8% of men and 15-18% of women. Nearly two-thirds of headache patients discontinue prescription medications due to inadequate relief and side effects. The SPG block may also have utility in the treatment of other disorders.The SphenoCath is designed to deliver medicines or fluids to the nasal cavities, and can be used to provide blocking medication directly to the entire SPG apparatus. Depending upon physician preferences and anatomical variation among patients, SphenoCath may be used with or without fluoroscopic visualization.