The article series “Better health monitoring for patient empowerment” puts the spotlight on the Digital Health Academy 2024 cohort, highlighting their innovative solutions and their ongoing collaborations with digitalswitzerland members. Each article features one of the scaleups chosen to participate in the second edition of the academy.
CNS Therapy
The Challenge
Chronic pain impacts millions of people worldwide, with existing treatments often providing limited relief. This unmet need significantly affects patients’ quality of life, contributes to mental health challenges, and places substantial financial and staffing pressures on healthcare systems. The chronic pain market is vast, with annual expenditures exceeding CHF 400 billion each in Europe and the US. The market continues to expand, driven by the growing prevalence of long COVID and increasing mental health problems.
The Solution
CNS Therapy AG (“CNS”) is dedicated to helping people live pain-free lives through an innovative neuromodulation technology called Systolic Extinction Training (SET). Unlike pharmaceuticals or invasive surgical treatments, SET offers a novel, non-pharmacological approach aimed at eliminating pain while promoting holistic well-being. This method addresses one of the key challenges in pain management–the need for behavioral change in patients. Unlike traditional Digital Therapeutics (DTx), which often fail to achieve lasting behavioral changes, CNS leverages the combination of stimulation hardware and behavioral therapists to drive the necessary transformation.
At its core, CNS’s approach involves a medical device that noninvasively stimulates the patient’s right hand in sync with the cardiac cycle. This stimulation targets and retains the autonomic nervous system, which is often impaired in chronic patients. The device’s effects are further enhanced through a psychosocial-specific therapy program designed to shift pain-related behaviors, cognitions, and fears toward healthier patterns. The therapy is delivered under the guidance of a trained behavioral therapist and supported by a patient eLearning platform. The standard treatment protocol requires just 20 hours over 5 weeks to achieve significant pain relief.
CNS’s unique approach is backed by patented technology and robust clinical validation. Results from a randomised controlled trial (RCT)1 show high percentage of patients remaining pain-free after 12 months2, underscoring the long-term impact and efficacy of the solution.
Impact on the Patient
This solution has already shown significant potential to improve patients’ overall quality of life. By addressing both the physical and psychological aspects of chronic pain, SET helps patients regain control over their daily activities and emotional well-being. This holistic approach fosters a sense of empowerment and resilience, enabling individuals to shift their focus from managing pain to enjoying a fuller, more active life. These outcomes reinforce our commitment to placing patients at the center of healthcare and tailoring treatments to their unique needs.
Patient Testimonials
“I sense much more power than before. I feel so awake. My muscles are more flexible thus I can take the stairs much easier than before and faster.”
“I run three times a week for 6 miles and do not have any pain anymore.”
Team
CNS’s multidisciplinary team combines expertise in medical device innovation, neuroscience, and clinical psychology. With backgrounds in research and development, their team members are passionate about creating effective, science-backed solutions that meet real-world needs. This diverse skill set enables them to maintain a comprehensive vision of projects, ensuring seamless integration of technology and therapy.
Collaboration & Partnerships
To realise their vision, CNS is actively building partnerships with university hospitals, pain clinics, and health insurance providers across Switzerland. These collaborations are crucial for validating CNS’s approach, reaching
more patients, and demonstrating cost-effectiveness to healthcare stakeholders. By working together, CNS aims to not only improve patient outcomes but also reduce the economic burden of chronic pain treatments on the healthcare system. They strive to have patients go back to work and take care of their families.
Future Vision for Healtchare
CNS believes the future of healthcare lies in prioritising patients and results over procedures. More specifically, both the mind and the body need to be changed to influence chronic disease. Their long-term goal is to redefine the standard of care for chronic pain management, making personalised, holistic treatment accessible to all. By shifting the focus from treating symptoms to inducing long-term behavioural change, CNS both empowers patients to take an active role in their health and teach them how.
Spotlight on collaboration with Ergon Informatik
As part of the journey with the Digital Health Academy, CNS had the privilege of working with Ergon Informatik as their mentor.
Goal of the Collaboration
This collaboration aimed to enhance the usability and digital components of the solution, focusing specifically on improving the mobile application that controls the electrical stimulation aspect of their device.
The Collaboration Value
Ergon Informatik provided invaluable insights into optimising the app’s functionality and usability, guiding CNS on best practices for digital development. While the current stage of development limited the scope of technical advancements, their mentorship helped CNS establish a clear roadmap for future progress.
Roadmap and Achievements
In the future, when CNS will transition into more advanced development stages, the potential for deeper collaboration with Ergon may expand. They look forward to leveraging Ergon’s expertise further to refine their digital platform and ensure it meets the highest standards of usability and efficiency for their patients.
About the Organisations
CNS Therapy: https://www.cnstherapy.com/
Ergon Informatik: https://www.ergon.ch/
About the Digital Health Academy
In collaboration with Swiss Healthcare Startups, digitalswitzerland launched the second edition of the Digital Health Academy, a 6-month cohort based programme for AI-driven digital health scaleups that enable patients to better understand and monitor their health. AllesHealth, CNS Therapy, Exploris Health, mobile health and Pathmate were part of the 2024 cohort and, through this academy, were positioned as thought leaders in the digital health space. As part of the programme, they joined a collaborative workshop with the programme’s partners, were mentored by experts, benefited from in-depth workshops and took part in a panel discussion on health monitoring at our partner Swiss Healthcare Startups’s ecosystem event, Digital Health Day in Zurich.
Want to know more? Check out last year’s publication “The Swiss healthcare system: entering a new digital era”, on the state of innovation in digital health in Switzerland.
Footnotes
1 RCT: random controlled trial, a scientific experiment used to control factors that are not under direct experimental control.
2 82% of females with fibromyalgia patients remained pain-free at the 12-month follow-up.
