NCT01232582

Safety and Efficacy of MRgFUS for the Treatment of Low Back Pain

Safety and Efficacy of ExAblate MR Guided Focused Ultrasound for the Treatment of Low Back Pain Related to Facet Joint Osteoarthritis

• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 50 (estimated)
• Sponsor: InSightec · Industry
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Chronic pain affects an estimated 50 to 65 million individuals in the US, and its incidence and prevalence is steadily on the rise in correspondence with the increasing longevity of the population. Spinal pain, encompassing lower back, thoracic and neck pain, is a very common type of chronic pain that can greatly reduce quality of life. Facet joint pain is most often associated with facet arthropathy or degenerative arthritis of the joint. This condition develops due to progressive wear and tear caused by the small but repetitive strain of the joints throughout a lifetime. Strain and inflammation can induce fluid distention of the joints which in turn can result in compression of the nerve roots of the joint - the origin of the chronic pain. Current treatments for facet arthropathy and pain include oral medications, intra-articular injections of anesthetic or steroid medications, energy ablation (e.g. radiofrequency ablation) for denervation, and in some severe cases facet rhizotomy (surgical severing of the nerves). The ExAblate magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound system enables noninvasive focal ablation of tissue. Results from feasibility studies, including those from the FDA approved feasibility study (IDE # G050177) have shown the palliative effect of the ExAblate for patients with bone metastases. It is reasonable to assume that this palliative effect of MRgFUS could also translate to the alleviation of facet pain if focused ultrasound beams are directed to the facet joints. The highly-target focal ablation could also diminish the risk of complications that are often associated with other less selective denervation techniques. The objective of this trial is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the ExAblate system and the treatment of pain resulting from facet joint osteoarthritis.

Detailed description

This is a prospective, non-randomized, single-arm, phase I study to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of using ExAblate MRgFUS in the treatment of pain resulting from facet joint osteoarthritis. Patients with chronic LBP associated with one or more lumbar zygapophysial joints that meet all eligibility requirements and have given their written informed consent will be enrolled to the study. All patients will be treated and followed for 12-months post treatment. A total of 50 patients will be enrolled at up to two clinical sites. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate incidence and severity of adverse events associated with the ExAblate MRgFUS system used for the treatment of pain resulting from facet joint osteoarthritis

Conditions

• Lower Back Pain, Facets Joints Osteoarthritis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Exablate treatment	MR guided Focused Ultrasound treatment

Timeline

• Start date: 2009-10-01
• Primary completion: 2012-02-01
• Completion: 2012-02-01
• First posted: 2010-11-02
• Last updated: 2012-02-22

Locations

2 sites across 2 countries: Israel, United Kingdom