Cuban scientists and specialists are also working on other innovative pieces of medical equipment, although the country is amid one of the most difficult economic situations, mainly due to the unjust and criminal blockade imposed by the United States.
The achievements made by the Neurosciences Center of Cuba (Cneuro) and Combiomed Digital Medical Technology were presented at a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, according to the Infomed medical website.
Doctor of Science Mitchell Valdés, director of Cneuro, praised the high impact of the Estep equipment will have, which will benefit epileptic patients.
He explained that in Cuba, epilepsy has a prevalence of 280 to 300 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and worldwide it is estimated that 30 percent of people with this disease do not respond to pharmacological treatment, which is known as drug-resistant epilepsy.
Electro-stimulation of the vagus nerve is a variant that is gaining ground and, in the case of transcutaneous stimulation, it allows low-cost equipment and is less invasive because it does not require surgery for its implant.
This device was tested in 18 patients in conjunction with the Institute of Neurology, and most of the cases had a reduction of more than 50 percent.
Cuban experts are preparing a clinical trial on children suffering from refractory epilepsy, and therapeutic potentialities were identified in migraine, insomnia, depression, learning disorders and stroke recovery.
Dr. Valdes also highlighted the results of Infantix, a neonatal screening system for the early detection of hearing and vision disorders.
International statistics show that six out of 1,000 children may suffer from hearing loss at birth and 1.5 out of every 1,000 newborns may present a visual problem.
Another novelty is Neuroplanus, a neuronavigation project consisting of a system for surgical planning of brain pathologies, which uses various clinical neuroimaging modalities to monitor brain tumor surgeries, as well as Vigilvent, an electrical impedance tomograph for the study of respiratory function and continuous bedside monitoring of patients suffering from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.
In addition, conventional video games are being designed to treat attention and frontal-executive function deficits in school-age patients, a clinical trial that is currently underway. Engineer Juan Carlos Hernandez, director of Research and Development at Combiomed, which is attached to the BioCubaFarma group of biotechnological and pharmaceutical industries, offered data on the Combiovent pulmonary ventilator, with more than 70 percent of patients having recovered after its use.
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