This subject also showed a slight increase in the degree of subluxation of his shoulder during his 6 weeks off therapy. He chose to discontinue the therapy after the trial. Subject number 3 was a control subject, with minimal subluxation. As of September 2000 two more subjects, one experimental and one control, had just started the trials. A clinical trial began in June 2000 in Milan, Italy, for the rehabilitation of hypotrophic leg muscles associated with osteoarthritis of the knee.
Chronic pain leads to disuse and weakness of the quadriceps, exacerbating damage to the knee joint.
BION implants can be used to recruit all or most of the motor units at low enough frequencies to avoid potentially damaging or painful force levels. Outcome measures such as quadriceps strength, muscle thickness, pain, and gait analysis will be monitored over 24 weeks. Preparations for several other clinical applications are underway. Other clinical trials are also in the planning stage. The BION technology now under study provides a convenient and cost-effective means of utilizing electrically controlled exercise in a large range of dysfunctions and muscle groups.