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Wearable pain management device for post-operative patients to reduce need for opioids, developed by South Coast company

The unique device is being developed by a Santa Barbara-based company to help with acute pain management
Bexson Biomedical
The unique device is being developed by a Santa Barbara-based company to help with acute pain management

A unique product for acute pain management after major surgeries, has been developed by a South Coast company.

It’s hoped the wearable pump device, which delivers a patented ketamine formulation, will reduce the use of opioids.

It could also replace current delivery methods like IV infusions, nasal sprays and oral ingestions in mental health settings. The device can closely match the efficacy of IV ketamine administration without feeling quite as awkward and medicalized, and it also brings costs down, says Dr. Jeffrey Becker from Bexson Biomedical — who are based in Santa Barbara.

He says the company's formulation enables subcutaneous delivery (a tiny needle that penetrates just under the surface of the skin), making it easier for doctors and therapists to control dosing profiles.

The wearable device can be used for pain management – as an alternative to opioid medications - as well as to treat some mental health disorders, and is a step closer to FDA approval says Dr. Becker.

"With the pump technology that exists in the insulin market, we can deliver very exquisitely controlled dosing that can control pain in post operative situations.

"Patients that receive ketamine during the treatment need fewer opioids," he told KCLU.

Dr. Becker says it could be five years before FDA approval.

Caroline joined KCLU in October 2020. She won LA Press Club's Audio Journalist of the Year Award in 2022 and 2023.

Since joining the station she's won 7 Golden Mike Awards, 4 Los Angeles Press Club Awards and 2 National Arts & Entertainment Awards.

She started her broadcasting career in the UK, in both radio and television for BBC News, 95.8 Capital FM and Sky News and was awarded the Prince Philip Medal for her services to radio and journalism in 2007.

She has lived in California for ten years and is both an American and British citizen - and a very proud mom to her daughter, Elsie.