Researchers to present electrical restorative device for bowel, bladder, sexual functions on July 11 in San Jose
Dr. Graham Creasey (left), Dr. Harminder Singh (right)
There’s been a lot of excitement and enthusiasm over the latest version of an implantable electrical stimulator that appears to restore bowel, bladder and sexual functions in individuals with a spinal cord injury and two researchers in the center of this technology will present their findings and discuss the clinical trials they’re currently recruiting to support their work with this device. The presentation is part of the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s (SCVMC) Dept. of Rehabilitation SCI Connections meetups that would be held on Thurs., July 11th from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The presenters are Dr. Harminder Singh and Dr. Graham Creasey. Dr. Singh is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He serves as Chief of Neurosurgery at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose and is the Director of Neurotrauma. Dr. Creasey has worked in spinal cord injury for over 30 years in Britain and the U.S. and is particularly interested in restoring function by information technology, bioengineering, functional electrical stimulation and stem cells. He spent 18 years with the Functional Electrical Stimulation Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and led a multicenter clinical trial of electrical stimulation for restoring bladder, bowel and sexual function after spinal cord injury, resulting in FDA approval of an implantable stimulator.
In this 60-minute presentation, the doctors will introduce a radically different version of the original device which has been implanted in thousands of patients before but needed several sensory nerves to be cut. SCVMC is one of the clinical trial sites testing a new way of implanting the device that does not cut any sensory nerve. After the presentation, a 15-minute Q&A segment will follow.
A capacity crowd is expected and thus, space is likely to be limited and it’s important that you RSVP by no later than July 9th on a first-come, first-served basis. The presentation will also be webcast live if you’re unable to attend or live too far away, allowing you to actively participate in the question and answer session. Light refreshments will be served.
To RSVP or receive information on how to watch the presentation via the webcast, please contact Robert Medel, either by phone at (408) 885-2397 or email at robert.medel@hhs.sccgov.org and he can assist you with the connection setup. The presentation will be held at the hospital’s Valley Specialty Center Basement Conference Room at 751 S. Bascom Ave., San Jose.