How it works
History of CryoanalgesiaCold has been used to relieve pain since the days of Hippocrates in ancient Greece. Modern cold therapy, or cryotherapy, has been around since the 1950s and is a trusted technology for treating pain.
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400 BC
Hippocrates uses cold to relieve swelling, bleeding, and pain.
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1050
An Anglo-Saxon monk uses cold as a local anesthetic.
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1899
Campbell White is the first to employ refrigerants for medical use.
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1961
Dr Irving S. Cooper develops device with hollow tube to deliver pressurized nitrogen and achieve -190°C at the tip.
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1967
Setrag Zacarian introduces a hand-held self-pressurized cryogen spray device.
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1976
Lloyd et al proposes that cryoanalgesia is superior to other methods of peripheral nerve destruction.
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2013
The iovera° treatment system is launched. It delivers targeted cold to a peripheral nerve, immediately relieving pain.
Cryoanalgesia (also known as cryoneurolysis) is the destruction of the signal carrying parts of a nerve. It is a small subset of treatments under the broad umbrella of cryotherapy. Until now, traditional cryotherapy treatments were invasive and used large complicated machines.
The iovera° system has revolutionized the delivery of cryoanalgesia. With the iovera° system, doctors are able to deliver precise, controlled doses of cold temperature only to the targeted nerve through a handheld device. This needle-based procedure is safe and does not damage or destroy the surrounding tissue.
The iovera° treatment blocks targeted sensory nerves from sending pain signals. A small probe (also referred to as Smart Tip) is inserted into the treatment region and a treatment cycle is performed. A precise cold zone is formed under the skin—cold enough to temporarily stop the nerve from signaling without damaging surrounding tissue. This is repeated until the nerve is blocked, providing pain relief until the nerve regenerates.
The iovera° treatment is used to treat specific nerves so the pain relief is focused only on the part of the body that is being treated. One treatment with the iovera° system can last 90 days.1
REFERENCE
- Radnovich R, Scott D, Patel AT, et al. Cryoneurolysis to treat the pain and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2017;25(8):1247-1256.