SANTA CLARITA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today the Federal Communications Commission ruled in favor of allocating secure secondary spectrum for transformative medical technology. The spectrum will provide the radio frequency required to power a number of implantable medical devices that will improve the lives of returning veterans with traumatic brain injury, prosthesis as well as for thousands of people who have suffered movement disorders from strokes, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy.
“The FCC’s decision removes the most significant roadblock to helping people. The frequency that has been approved for use is the most efficient for penetrating tissue with radio waves and without which the new generation of our implantable neurostimulator technology would be impossible to advance,” said David Hankin, CEO of the Alfred Mann Foundation. “The FCC worked hard and our scientists, engineers and prospective patients congratulate them for making a giant step toward making veterans’ and others’ lives better.”
With this significant hurdle behind them, the Mann Foundation is working on a plan to rapid start on human trials and will seek FDA approvals in the next year.
“It should be noted that critical to this effort was the Department of Defense, which willingly agreed to share this important spectrum for the medical benefit of all. Sometimes, the government gets it right, and we should appreciate this moment,” Hankin added.
The Alfred Mann Foundation's goal is to develop medical devices to help patients who have few medical options and advance that technology to the marketplace. Founded in 1985 by Alfred E. Mann, the foundation is a non-profit engaged solely in medical research and has initiated research and development on numerous advanced medical devices. These include the cochlear implant, retinal prosthesis and fully implantable glucose sensor and drug pump, as well as the microstimulator system.
About the Alfred Mann Foundation
The Alfred Mann Foundation is a medical research foundation dedicated to bringing advanced medical technologies to the public to provide significant improvements to the health, security and quality of life for people suffering from debilitating medical conditions. For more information, visit www.aemf.org.