A Virtual Reality Platform to Treat Lower Back Pain Is Now FDA-Approved

Keerthi Vedantam

Keerthi Vedantam is a bioscience reporter at dot.LA. She cut her teeth covering everything from cloud computing to 5G in San Francisco and Seattle. Before she covered tech, Keerthi reported on tribal lands and congressional policy in Washington, D.C. Connect with her on Twitter, Clubhouse (@keerthivedantam) or Signal at 408-470-0776.

A Virtual Reality Platform to Treat Lower Back Pain Is Now FDA-Approved

For the first time, a virtual reality device received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to address pain.

Los Angeles-based therapeutic virtual reality startup AppliedVR's device to ease chronic lower back pain gained FDA approval this week.


The move opens the door to making VR a common solution for lower back pain, one of the most common chronic pain conditions in the U.S. that is also linked to deteriorating mental health and lack of productivity at work. Doctors can now use the technology to wean patients off high levels of opioids and insurance companies can subsidize the VR treatment, making it more accessible to low-income patients and broadening adoption of new technologies.

"You have to think about who pays for it. By going the FDA prescription route, that gives us a pathway to get this embedded into the rail systems of reimbursement in America," AppliedVR co-founder Matthew Stoudt said prior to the news.

The company's product, EaseVRx, follows a principle that has been studied for a long time: that pain is often less about the physical sensation and more often around the mental association of pain to stress, anxiety and isolation.

"Pain reduction is a crucial component of living with chronic lower back pain," said Christopher M. Loftus, acting director of the Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

"[The] authorization offers a treatment option for pain reduction that does not include opioid pain medications when used alongside other treatment methods for chronic lower back pain."

Using cognitive behavioral therapy and virtual reality, the offering takes patients with chronic lower back pain through an eight-week-long course comprising a series of modules that help them better cope with the never-ending (yet often debilitating) pain of chronic conditions.

"If they don't have access to a specialist or they don't have access to these integrated settings, you can actually bring these integrated settings to the home," Stoudt said.

Earlier this month, AppliedVR raised $36 million to push EaseVRx through the FDA pipeline, as well as create new VR offerings for a variety of pain and mental health indications. It was the first company to receive an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation as a VR treatment therapeutic for treatment-resistant fibromyalgia and chronic intractable lower back pain.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

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