TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – For millions of men and women living with overactive bladder, the condition can be frustrating and disruptive. Now a new implantable device is helping some patients gain back more control.
The ‘eCoin’ is a small implant that’s about the size of a nickel. Doctors say it can help regulate the nerves controlling the bladder through mild electrical pulses.
“You do nothing to it,” said Dr. Ravi Bukkapatnam, a Urologist with Tampa General Hospital. “It fires on its own, it turns off on its own, it stimulates on its own, it turns off on its own.”
The device is implanted just beneath the skin at the ankle, where it reaches the sacral never that helps control bladder function. It has a lifespan of about five years and can be easily swapped out once the battery runs out. Doctors say the treatment option aims to eliminate the need fore lifestyle changes often faced by patients with this condition.
“Having incontinence can cause infections, it can cause that patient to wear pads, it really impacts the patient’s quality of life,” said Dr. Bukkapatnam. “Our goal is to really improve their quality of life so they can go to their dinner event, they can run their business meeting, they can wear the color of clothing they want to wear.”