New Pain Management Training Device Rolled Out

(ORTHOPEDICS THIS WEEK) A new medical device called AsTris 1.0 is now available help doctors get the pain management experience they need without having to practice on a real person. Developed by BioTras, LLC, AsTris 1.0 made its debut in Dallas at the 2016 American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) conference April 14-16 at the Hyatt Regency.

Johnny East, DO and Brandon Knutson, DC are co-owners of BioTras.

“As an emerging med-tech company based in Dallas, this is the perfect venue to launch our first medical device,” said Dr. East, who is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine and has performed over 20,000 spinal injections over the course of his 14-year career. “We will get the chance to showcase AsTris 1.0 in front of thousands of the best minds in interventional pain management, including physicians, nurses and other health care providers.”

According to the April 11, 2016 news release, “The AsTris 1.0 body is clear, which allows the practitioner to observe needle movement as the needle is advanced towards the spine. It can also be customized to include a variety of skeletal structures to meet a wider scope of training needs. The simulator is different than anything currently on the market and is made of a fusable thermo plastic material. It is also made of re-constructed human vertebrae, and other real bone elements that can be viewed under X-ray.”

“BioTras expects the second and third generation models of AsTris 1.0 to be used in training for specialties outside of pain management such as neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery.”

Dr. East, , told OTW, “AsTris 1.0 arose from an organic need in the field of musculoskeletal medicine for a new kind of training; one where the eye and hand can meet more effectively. The most interesting practical aspect of AsTris 1.0 is that the simulated thermoplastic material is reusable an indefinite number of times. AsTris 1.0 is authentic. It looks real under X-ray and to the naked eye because it is real.”

AsTris 1.0 Spinal Simulator for Learning How to Place Needles

(MEDGADGET.COM) BioTras, a company out of McKinney, Texas, is unveiling its AsTris 1.0 spinal simulator for training clinicians how to perform needle placements for pain management applications. The device is essentially a representation of a human with transparent tissues so that the bones of the back and spine are clearly visible.

Needles can be inserted into the fusable thermo plastic and the bones of the simulator are visible under X-ray so procedures can be performed realistically much how they would be with a real patient.

The AsTris 1.0 can be ordered customized for specific training applications to include different skeletal structures.

Astris 1.0 Sets New Gold Standard for Spinal Injection Training

(BUSINESS WIRE) DALLAS -- BioTras, LLC, a biomedical company owned by Dallas-based pain management doctors John East and Brandon Knutson, announced today it has received a U.S. Patent for AsTris 1.0 (U.S. Patent No. 9,275,556) a unique medical training simulator that is setting a new gold standard for training in interventional pain management. The patent was approved on March 1, 2016.

“The AsTris 1.0 is clear, which allows the practitioner to observe needle movement as the needle is advanced towards the spine. It can also be customized to include a variety of skeletal structures to meet a wider scope of training needs.”

East, who is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine, has performed over 20,000 spinal injections over the course of his 14-year career.

“It takes extreme precision and experience to perform spinal injections correctly. Until now, the only way you could practice was on a live human, a cadaver or on crude, non-realistic models,” said East. “The AsTris 1.0 is clear, which allows the practitioner to observe needle movement as the needle is advanced towards the spine. It can also be customized to include a variety of skeletal structures to meet a wider scope of training needs.”

East and Knutson set out three years ago to develop the patented spine simulator and take the patient out of the training equation. The AsTris 1.0 allows resident physicians, fellows, post-grad physicians and other health care professionals to practice performing hundreds, even thousands of injections before ever injecting a real person.

The AsTris 1.0 is different than anything currently on the market and is made of a fusable thermo plastic material that has the feel of human tissue. It is also made of re-constructed human vertebrae, and other real bone elements that look real under X-ray.

“The AsTris 1.0 simulator will be available this April,” said Knutson. “It is our goal to partner with medical technology companies, for-profit training facilities, medical schools, residency and fellowship training programs. We expect the second and third generation models of AsTris 1.0 to be used in training for specialties outside of pain management such as neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery."