AHFMR News
Heritage researcher receives FDA approval for innovative medical device
(Edmonton, AB) ) Monday, March 06, 2006... Imagine having a spinal cord injury and losing your ability to walk without dragging a foot. Mr. Edgar Jackson, who was injured in 1998, knows this all too well. Many patients, like Mr. Jackson, who suffer a devastating stroke or spinal injury, are left with limited and difficult movement known as foot drop. An AHFMR supported researcher at the University of Alberta has developed an electronic medical device that makes walking easier for these patients.
Dr. Richard Stein and a team at the University of Alberta developed the WalkAide® System. After 12 years of refining the device, Dr. Stein and marketing partner Innovative Neurotronics have received FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) approval for the sale of the WalkAide System. Since 1994, Dr. Stein has received technology commercialization funding from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)'s ForeFront program. And, in 2004, with the assistance and advice from an AHFMR ForeFront advisor, Dr. Stein signed a licensing agreement with Innovative Neurotronics of Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc. to bring the WalkAide System to market. The WalkAide System is now available for sale in North America.
** A Photo and Interview Opportunity with a Researcher and Patient in a Lab will be Available **
| What: |
Media opportunity to interview
Dr. Richard Stein & Mr. Edgar Jackson - a patient demonstrating the WalkAide System |
|
| When: | Monday, March 6, 2006 | |
| Time: | 10:00 AM to 12:00 noon * | |
| Where: |
U of A - Heritage Medical Research Bldg. - Lab 513 87th Ave and 113th St. (South side of 87th Ave.) |
* Please call Dwayne Brunner, AHFMR Communications, at (780) 966-1518 in order to arrange an interview.
Backgrounder
Dr. Richard Stein is a Research Professor in the Department of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta.
Foot Drop is a disorder that affects a person's ability to raise the foot by bending the ankle. It is a condition caused by weakness or paralysis of the muscles involved in lifting the front part of the foot, and causes a person to drag the toe on the ground or slap the foot on the floor. Generally speaking, the person is also unable to point the toes toward the body or move the foot at the ankle inward or outward. Foot Drop makes walking a challenge, causing the person to either drag the foot and toes while walking or exhibit a high-stepping walk.
Foot Drop is not a disease but a symptom of an underlying problem. Often Foot Drop is caused by injury to the peroneal nerve, which runs along the outside of the lower leg below the knee. Foot Drop is also found in many patients with stroke, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease and other medical conditions.
The WalkAide System is a medical device that, after more than a decade in development, has received marketing clearance from the FDA for improving the walking ability of people who have Foot Drop.
Innovative Neurotronics, Inc. is a company that brings Myo-Orthotics Technology™ products (the merging of orthotic technology, which braces a limb, with electrical stimulation, restoring specific muscle function), developed at major research centers and universities worldwide, to the people who need them. Medical devices employing Myo-Orthotics Technology improve the functionality of an impaired limb for better mobility and increased freedom. For more information, visit http://www.ininc.us.
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)'s ForeFront Program assists researchers and innovators in knowledge translation by providing mentorship, education, and early stage funding for the development of new and innovative products and services that lead to improved health. AHFMR's commitment is to fund health research based on international standards of excellence and carried out by new and established investigators and researchers in training at the Province's three main Universities. Total AHFMR funding for more than 25 years is in excess of $800 million. For more information, visit www.ahfmr.ab.ca.