Chattanooga, Tennessee-based Hollywog, makers of wearable pain relief devices, have announced the launch of their newest smartphone-controlled product, the WiTouch Pro Bluetooth TENS Therapy device.
Priced at $49.95 for over the counter consumer purchase, the WiTouch Pro adheres to the user's lower back underneath clothing to deliver stimulation pain therapy. The device is paired with the WiTouch Pro App, which allows users to adjust between four different relief programs at 15 levels of intensity.
“This launch signals an important innovation for Hollywog, where our new patented pain management solution, the WiTouch Pro, offers a drug-free digitally-enabled alternative to block pain and keep moving,” Chuck Thomas, CEO of Hollywog, said in a statement. “People are looking for a discrete solution that is personalized for their pain, and with this launch we deliver on that need.”
Hollywog’s WiTouch platform first received FDA clearance in 2012, for similar devices that used dedicated remotes to control pain relief. The company also produces another non-wearable device, the Modpod, for acute and chronic neck pain. Hollywog sells its products primarily through online distributors in the US and in retail pharmacies within Europe, and licenses their IP to Bayer Healthcare and others.
Hollywog is marketing the new WiTouch Pro wearable on its discretion, as well as the convenience and interconnectivity provided by the new accompanying app.
“WiTouch Pro and its companion WiTouch Pro App were developed because of our dedication to improving the pain sufferer experience,” Thomas said. “We want people to receive powerful and effective pain relief that fits discretely into normal daily activities without the side effects of drugs. Going forward, we recognize the increasing role that connected devices and data analytics will play to help people suffering with pain.”
There’s plenty of competition in the pain management wearable space. The newest iteration of Neurometrix’s Quell also uses a smartphone app to allow users direct control of their pain management, and was approved by the FDA last November. SPR Therapeutics, on the other hand, just received $25 million in Series C financing for its Spring Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) System, which does not require implants or invasive surgery but does connect with a 0.2mm wire placed through the skin. Outside of wearables, Medtronic received FDA clearance for its implantable pain management device that can be programmed wirelessly via a Samsung tablet, while Purdue Pharma and Geisinger are moving forward with their study of chronic pain therapy delivered via Apple Watch.
