The treatment aims to alleviate chronic pain – especially soft-tissue rheumatic pain and other rheumatic pain – by applying a high electrostatic charge to the whole body.

The aim of treatment with the Elosan Cabin is therefore to:

• significantly reduce the chronic and acute pain that often occurs in the case of rheumatic disease or trauma;
• improve quality of life and reduce the need for pain medication.

The therapy complements a pain therapy that is common today. It is used as an adjunct to a multimodal, but above all drug-based treatment.

Elosan therapy is used to treat almost any type of chronic pain. It also helps treat acute pain and prevent it becoming chronic when used as an innovative physical tool to complement ongoing conservative, multimodal pain treatment concepts. Chronic pain conditions can be caused by a variety of causes. The most common forms of chronic pain are:

• Back pain
• Rheumatic pain
• Neuropathic pain
• Fibromyalgia (soft-tissue rheumatism)
• Degenerative pain
• Headaches
• Phantom pains

Various investigations have also shown efficacy in acute musculoskeletal pain. Cervical spine, lumbar spine and shoulder-arm syndromes are conditions where this treatment is showing particular promise.

Contraindication

All types of electrical or electronic implants, such as:

• Pacemakers
• Defibrillators
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillators
• Electrical pumps such as insulin pumps.

Untreated seizure disorders are another strict contraindication. For a full list of warnings and instructions, please refer to the instructions for use.

The force of the electrical field acting on free electrical charge carriers results in a movement of charge. It can be assumed that when a very strong electrostatic DC field surrounds the body, as in the case in the Elosan Cabin, this has an effect that extends into the outer layers of the skin where the nociceptors are embedded and down into the underlying cells of the connective tissue.

Depending on the charge of the ions, this force can have either an inhibitory or an accelerating effect on ion movements. Therefore, it can influence both resting membrane potential and the development and conduction of action potentials (e.g. in nerve cells).

This could explain the effect on pain observed in tests to date: the physical action of this force could affect the stimulation of the nociceptors or it could affect the conduction of action potentials in nerve cells.

Because treatment with the Elosan Cabin is so new, operators must take care when using it. It is important to bear in mind that patients may have some fear of the “electrical” aspect and may also feel anxious about being treated in a closed cabin. Furthermore, as with many medications, this electro-physical treatment method should be expected to have a non-responder rate of 30%. The following treatment regimen has been established based on experience gained from treatments carried out during the development of the Elosan Cabin:

Start  
Two treatments per week for two to three weeks

After four to six treatments
Assessment 1, basic efficacy:

• Responder
• Non-responder (a non-responder is a person who has no improvement after three to five treatments)

Assessment of the responder
Assessment 2, with patients who responded positively to the treatment:

• Intensity of the effect: 
   alleviation of pain/absence of pain
• Tolerability of the effect: 
  side effects/no side effects
• Other changes, such as:
  general well-being, changes in physical performance or better sleep

Continuation of treatments
Continuation of treatments as follows:

• One treatment per week or
• Block treatments, for instance 10 treatments within five weeks and then a longer break from treatment

Special considerations
For some chronic pain conditions, continuous treatment one or two times a week has proven effective.

The efficacy of the treatment has been demonstrated in a randomised, multicentre, comparative clinical study conducted at three pain treatment centres in Switzerland in accordance with EN ISO 14155. (Swissmedic 2018-MD-0002).

The final report stated the following:

In summary, it can be stated that the clinical study demonstrated that treatment with the Elosan Cabin effectively provides additional reduction in chronic pain, even with medication-based therapy administered at maximum dose. For many patients – both in the study and outside of it – significant pain reduction, a reduction in the need to use medication and an improvement in quality of life were documented.

Furthermore, eight consecutive treatment sessions in the Elosan Cabin did not lead to any manifest safety-related concerns. The treatment can be characterised as effective, safe and well-tolerated.

In particular, improved sleep and easing of musculoskeletal tension were observed.

The results of the clinical study were documented and published by Dr Petra Hoederath MD, the study investigator, in December 2019.

The publication appears in the scientific journal Der Schmerz, 1/2020 from Springer Verlag and it can be viewed on PubMed.

«Treatment with the Elosan Cabin C1 expands the spectrum of treatment options available to patients with chronic and acute pain by adding an effective, side-effect-free, well-tolerated and non-medication-based physical treatment option. The treatment is not time-intensive, plus it is easy to delegate and does not put patients under any strain or expose them to any danger.»

Dr. med. Petra Hoederath MD
Head of Multimodal Pain Treatment
Hirslanden Klinik Stephanshorn, St.Gallen, Switzerland

The editors at Springer Verlag have now approved the clinical study for publication. It is now available online and has been published as follows:

a) Print media: scientific journal «Der Schmerz», issue 1/2020, February 2020
b) Springer «Online First» article
c) PubMed

Together with scientists from the University of Zurich, Elosan AG has submitted a research project to Innosuisse, the Swiss Agency for Innovation Promotion. The innovation project "Neurobiological effect of the Elosan electrostatic application" is primarily intended to scientifically investigate the mechanism of action of the Elosan therapy.

We are very proud that the Innosuisse grant application was approved in September 2021. It confirms our work and will support us in developing a scientific basis. Neuroscientists are to research and scientifically prove the mechanisms of action of the application of an electrostatic high voltage.

The cabin, developed by Elosan AG and approved by TÜV Rheinland, works through the application of 50,000 volt strong electrostatic fields. Its effectiveness is shown in studies on chronic pain patients and also achieves an improvement in sleep, general well-being and vitality. Unfortunately, very little is known about the actual mechanisms of action. What exactly happens in the body through the electrostatic high voltage on the skin?

In cooperation with the University of Zurich, this question, which is critical for market success, will be addressed, namely the fundamental influence of the electrostatic field on the healthy human body. Effects will be investigated on three levels, namely: peripheral physiological, neuro-physiological and behavioural. This should provide Elosan AG with a scientifically sound basis of argumentation for the mechanisms of action of the application of an electrostatic high voltage. This information supports a possible extension of the field of application and our requests for reimbursement by health insurance companies.

Innosuisse project no. 51821.1: "Neurobiological effect of the Elosan electrostatic application".

Treatment using the Elosan Cabin is a new treatment. It is used by physicians, healthcare professionals or other professionals. The advantages of Elosan therapy are that the treatment is effective, does not take long, and is easy to carry out and easy to delegate. A single treatment session takes only four minutes. In practice, around six patients can be treated per hour.

The Elosan Cabin is an effective, electro-physical treatment for acute pain and – most especially – chronic pain. It is ideal for use as a treatment to complement interdisciplinary, multimodal treatment concepts.

Treatment with the Elosan Cabin is suitable for use in pain clinics, pain treatment centres or specialist outpatient pain clinics as an effective, quick, cost-effective physical component to complement any pain treatment concept.

Pain treatment centres at university hospitals
Pain treatment centres at university hospitals that are prepared to incorporate Elosan therapy into their scientific concepts and clinical studies and publish about this can procure the cabin under very favourable terms.

Regional pain treatment centres
As a physical component of treatment that has no side effects, a treatment method like Elosan therapy is the perfect addition to the range of treatments on offer at regional pain treatment centres.

Medical practices and outpatient pain clinics
Treatment with the Elosan Cabin is the perfect complementary addition to standard treatment. It is used alongside standard treatment with the expectation that the use of medications can be reduced.

As a new component of pain treatment, the Elosan Cabin is not yet widely known about. It is therefore not yet included in the treatment catalogues of statutory health insurance providers. Consequently, patients themselves are billed for this treatment.

Since it is considered an individual healthcare service (“individuelle Gesundheitsleistung” or “IGeL”), with a sufficient number of treatments, the Elosan Cabin offers those interested in offering it as a treatment a good cost-benefit ratio, plus it pays for itself relatively quickly. In addition, Elosan therapy is easy to delegate.

The cost of procuring the Elosan Cabin is moderate and very reasonable. There are various customisable options available: outright purchase, hire purchase or hire.