Scrambler Therapy: Effective use of artificial neurons for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain - Spring 2014 |, Calmar Pain Therapy

Scrambler Therapy: Effective use of artificial neurons for the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain – Spring 2014

The experience of pain is a normal sensation existing as an expedient mechanism for preservation of life, reduction of injury and/or the initiation of healing. It is formally defined in many research studies as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with real or potential tissue damage (Merskey & Bogduk, 1994). When pain persists beyond the reasonable timeframe of healing (e.g., six months) and seems to have separated from its purpose of warning, it is labeled as chronic.

Chronic pain, for the most part, does not seem to have a specific purpose. While acute pain is usually time-limited, chronic pain can persist for decades. Chronic pain persists beyond a point when natural healing and in some cases surgical healing has resolved. Subjective components seem to increase in importance and the behaviors or responses of the individual appear disproportionate to underlying
pathophysiology and often become the disorder itself.

Chronic pain disrupts every aspect of life and over time produces significant emotional and behavioral changes. People experiencing chronic pain seem to report the pain as treatment-resistant, thereby increasing exposure to more and more treatment approaches, including the use of opioids in combination with various cocktails of anticonvulsants, anti-inflammatories and antidepressants. As pain persists in the presence of varying and increasing interventions, the focus of treatment begins to move toward the psychological. Referrals are often made for “behavioral pain management,” usually focused on improvement in coping as well as improvement of specific psychophysiological manifestations of the pain (e.g., muscle tension).

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Francis R. Sparadeo, PhD

Dr. Frank Sparadeo received his doctoral degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1981 and completed his internship at the Boston V.A. Medical Center and his Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Brown University Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital. Dr. Sparadeo is licensed to practice clinical psychology in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

Dr. Sparadeo was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University for 17 years. He was on the staff at Rhode Island Hospital (RIH) for 25 years. He was also on the staff at St. Joseph Hospital and The Eleanor Slater Hospital for many years. Dr. Sparadeo was the Co- Director of the Rhode Island Hospital Concussion Care Center for 5 years in the Emergency Department. He was the Coordinator of the RIH Interdisciplinary Spine Program for 15 years and he has been a consultant to several chronic pain management programs over the past 32 years. Most recently Dr. Sparadeo developed the first program in Rhode Island to focus on the dual problem of Chronic Pain and addiction. Dr. Sparadeo has trained numerous psychiatry residents and psychology fellows over the years.

Currently, Dr. Sparadeo is in private practice focusing on presurgical psychological assessments, chronic pain management, neuropsychological assessment of traumatic brain injury, dementia , ADHD and other CNS conditions. He is the past chairman of the Governor’s Permanent Advisory Commission on TLB, and has recently been a consultant to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Washington, D.C. and served on the National Task Force on Substance Abuse and Disability (coordinated by SAMHSA).

Dr. Sparadeo is Calmar Pain Relief’s Director of Clinical Research.

Introduction to Calmar Pain Relief, LLC

Dr. Sparadeo was introduced to Scrambler Therapy (ST) by attending a seminar sponsored by Calmar Pain Relief in January 2010. At that time Dr. Sparadeo met with Dr. D’Amato and Robert Smith and agreed to refer two severely impaired patients to Dr. D’Amato, where ST would be applied. The results were significant and Dr. D’Amato and Bob Smith invited Dr. Sparadeo to become involved with Calmar Pain Relief by assisting with the development of Calmar and the clinical research of ST.

Since that time, Dr. Sparadeo and Dr. D’Amato have collaborated on Publications explaining the results from the successful application of ST in peer reviewed journals and articles. Dr. Sparadeo often consults clinically with Dr. D’ Amato. Dr. Sparadeo assisted Calmar Pain Relief in securing a Therapeutic Discovery Project Grant from HHS and the IRS and has assisted in the writing additional grant applications. Dr. Sparadeo and Dr. D’Amato have also collaborated on numerous presentations at professional seminars and conferences.

Robert W. Smith, Esq

Mr. Smith is a founder of Calmar and has been directing its business operations and legal matters since June 2009. Mr. Smith is a highly experienced trial attorney with over 40 years of practice in civil litigation, insurance defense, medical and legal malpractice, commercial litigation, corporate matters, risk management and healthcare law in state and federal courts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Bob also has experience in start-up company guidance as well as executive experience with start-ups, having co-founded another start-up prior to Calmar. His forty plus years as a practicing attorney and his previous start-up experience have given him a breadth of knowledge to help Calmar navigate the pitfalls of early venture stage companies.

Mr. Smith graduated from Bryant College, magna cum laude, in 1974 and University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly, Franklin Pierce Law Center) in 1977. He is currently a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association and admitted to practice in Rhode Island, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island, and the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Mr. Smith is Calmar’s Managing Member, Director of Business Operations and General Counsel.

Introduction to Calmar Pain Relief, LLC

In early 2009, Mr. Smith discovered Competitive Technologies, Inc. (CTT), a small Connecticut company, that in 2007 acquired exclusive worldwide rights to market and distribute an innovative new medical device. Mr. Smith began examining CTT’s development after it was issued broad 510(k) clearance by the FDA in February, 2009 for the MC-5A medical device. The application of this technology is called Scrambler Therapy (ST). After determining that there could be a business opportunity for the clinical application of this technology, Mr. Smith developed a business plan and contacted his longtime friend Dr. Stephen D’Amato to discuss the feasibility of opening a healthcare facility utilizing this technology to treat patients with chronic neuropathic pain. Mr. Smith arranged for CTT to demonstrate the application of this technology and treat some of Dr. D’Amato’s chronic neuropathic pain patients using ST. This very successful demonstration clearly showed the effectiveness of the MC-5A medical device. Dr. D’Amato saw the incredible potential of this new technology. Mr. Smith then presented his business plan to CTT. After an agreement with CTT was executed, Calmar Pain Relief, LLC was organized. Dr. D’Amato traveled to Rome to train under Professor Giuseppe Marineo, the Italian inventor of the technology, and Calmar opened in November 2009.