BioElectronics targets dental market

ActiPatch tested as an alternative to medication

The ActiPatch is already widely used after plastic surgery and sprains, or for lower back pain and chronic repetitive pain such as carpal tunnel or bursitis. An embedded, battery-operated microchip provides pulsed therapy. The product is federally approved for swelling following plastic surgery and is available from pharmacists and other providers.

The principal investigator of the dental study, Sharon Gordon, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the dental school, said she hopes the patch will reduce the need for pain medication and steroids prescribed to reduce swelling after oral surgeries. Physicians are always looking for ‘‘something to reduce the pain-killing pills they prescribe,” she said.

‘‘Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to take them?” asked Gordon, adding that narcotics sometimes lead to vomiting, which greatly increases the chances for infections after surgery.

‘‘We are really looking forward to this,” she said. ‘‘It is a cool study. This is a neat little device — nothing like it out there.”

Dr. Richard Cassie, clinical professor of dentistry at the New Jersey School of Dentistry and Medicine, will be the project manager and chief investigator of the study, which is supported by an award from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships program.

‘‘The clinical study will produce the definitive scientific data needed to introduce ActiPatch to the dental practitioners,” Cassie said.

Gordon suggested that the dental study will be different from previous scientific studies of the ActiPatch because the wisdom-tooth extractions involve bone removal. After the wisdom tooth study, more studies will determine if the patch is equally effective for more painful tooth removal, oral surgery, gum surgery and root canals.

The device works by moderating ion channels in cells of swollen tissue, Gordon said. After surgery, the body needs some inflammation, ‘‘but too much inflammation can cause you pain. We will be evaluating to see if the patch reduces swelling, that it does not interfere with healing.”

The company predicts the ActiPatch will be recommended for 24 hours following dental surgery, 10 to 30 days a month for chronic wounds and three to five days for acute injuries.

On Tuesday, BioElectronics announced a new sales, marketing and distribution agreement with Locin Industries of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Health Canada, that nation’s regulatory agency, has approved ActiPatch for over-the-counter sales for relieving musculoskeletal pain, said Andrew J. Whelan, president and CEO of BioElectronics.

‘‘This agreement will usher in a new era for biophysics medicine,” Whelan said in a statement. The company has 20 international distributors for ActiPatch, which has also been approved by regulatory agencies in South Korea, Australia and the European Union.

BioElectronics had revenues of $600,000 and a loss of $1.2 million in 2007.