NeuroMetrix gets FDA approval to market its Sensus pain-management device in the US

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

NeuroMetrix Inc., a medical device company based in Waltham, said its Sensus pain management device has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

In a press release, the company added that it now hopes that the device should reach the US market before the end of the year.

The Sensus is a non-invasive electrical nerve stimulator that is designed to provide relief from chronic pain.

People likely to benefit from the device are diabetics with a nerve-related complicationion called diabetic neuropathy. In many cases, these diabetics now use medication to manage pain. The hope is that the Sensus could eliminate or reduce their need for pain-management drugs.

Diabetic neuropathies affect more than 50 percent of diabetics, and the annual cost of diabetic neuropathies has been estimated at $14 billion in the United States, NeuroMetrix said.

The Sensus is designed to be worn around a patient’s upper calf, and pain relief is initiated by pressing a button that causes electrical stimulation of the nerves. The physiological principle is that excitation of normal nerves reduces transmission of pain signals to the brain, the company said.