Abbott has touted the potential of its neuromodulation portfolio in reducing patient and healthcare burdens associated with chronic pain following the positive results of three five-year analyses.
The readouts covered Abbott’s BurstDR spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and Proclaim dorsal root ganglion (DRG) technologies, highlighting the SCS treatments’ success in reducing patient reliance on pain-related healthcare visits.
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Abbott presented at the 2026 North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Annual meeting, which took place in Las Vegas between 22-25 January.
In a retrospective analysis, which included 16,846 patients, Abbott’s SCS therapy significantly lowered the number of short- and the long-term, pain-based healthcare visits associated by an average of 75% after five years of treatment. Of the 2,439 with five years of follow-up, the mean number of healthcare visits for pain dropped significantly, from 7.5 at baseline to 1.9 post-treatment.
Another retrospective study involving 834 patients prescribed the Proclaim DRG system – which is indicated for several forms of chronic pain – triggered a 73% reduction in pain-related healthcare trips.
Meanwhile, a long-term study involving 127 patients fitted with Abbott’s BurstDR stimulation technology found that 92% preferred the implant to standard tonic stimulation. Patients in this trial also experienced sustained physical function and pain relief – with impacts beginning at six months and continuing up to the five-year mark.
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By GlobalDataSCS technologies work by delivering targeted, mild electrical stimulation to the spinal cord to help modulate pain signals before they reach the brain. These systems also allow physicians to tailor the therapeutic epxerience to a patient’s pain pattern, location and clinical needs, while offering treatment flexibility for improved convenience.
Also at NANS26, Boston Scientific presented positive outcomes from treatment with its SCS portfolio through the global RELIEF registry, which charted patient outcomes following SCS intervention across multiple indications.
Neuromodulation goes mainstream
Jenn Wong, Abbott’s divisional VP of global clinical & regulatory, noted that the five-year analyses on the company’s SCS and DRG stimulation therapies displayed each treatment’s potential in delivering long-term benefits to patients, payors, and physicians.
Wong told Medical Device Network: “In a dataset of over 17,000 patients, we observed a significant reduction in pain-related healthcare encounters when employing Abbott SCS and DRG stimulation systems – reinforcing that these therapies can provide sustained relief, while reducing the ongoing burden of care.”
This could help relieve mounting pressure on healthcare services, which continues to grow as pain remains leading cause of disability worldwide, according to a systematic analysis published in The Lancet. This applies to patients’ wallets too, Wong added, as SCS therapies could help alleviate the financial burden of increased emergency room or doctor visits that patients may experience.
According to Wong, the consistent, positive long-term outcomes reported through the employment of neuromodulation systems in chronic pain could also strengthen physician and payor confidence in the technique as a durable standard of care (SoC) – supporting “broader access across the pain market”.
A recent report from GlobalData forecasts that the SCS market will be worth $3.5bn in North America in 2033.
Abbott’s next steps
Moving forward, Wong noted that Abbott will continue to place a strong focus on neuromodulation, which remains a core area of the company’s business strategy. This will see Abbott continue to expand its portfolio through evidence generation, as well as “access-enabling features” such as connected care of expanded MRI compatibility across chronic pain systems.
Alongside these efforts, Abbot is continuing to enrol patients in the TRANSCEND trial (NCT06423430), which is evaluating the potential of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). As per ClinicalTrials.gov, the study is set for primary completion in April 2027.
Wong notes that Abbott will also explore how digital health and data-driven tools can complement traditional clinical endpoints by more comprehensively capturing the patient’s real-world therapeutic experience.
