40 January 31 • 2018
jn

BRIAN BLUM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
S

ome 14 percent of American 
adults suffer from migraines 
or severe headaches. Among 
women aged 18-44, the number soars 
to 23 percent. Currently, no cure for 
migraines exists, and over-the-counter 
pain relief medicines do not always 
work.
One of the most promising 
treatments is occipital nerve 
stimulation, where a small pulse 
generator is implanted at the base 
of the skull to send pain-relieving 
electrical impulses to the brain.
What if the same effect could be 
achieved without surgery — and 
for a lower cost than the tens of 
thousands of dollars required for 
an occipital nerve implant? That 
hypothesis launched Shmuel Shany 
and Amit Dar on their journey to 
establishing Neurolief.
Neurolief is developing a 
noninvasive neuro-modulation device 
that could be available for purchase 
in a general pharmacy for less than 
$500. The device looks a bit like 
Geordi’
s visor in Star Trek: The Next 
Generation, except it sits on top of the 
head.
The Neurolief neuro-modulator 
stimulates six different nerve branches 
in the brain that regulate pain and 
mood. Each electrode in the device 
delivers a charge strong enough to 

penetrate the skull.
“It needs to be done without causing 
pain to the patient and not causing 
damage to scalp tissue,
” Dar tells 
ISRAEL21c, a nonprofit organization 
that publishes an online news 
magazine about 21st-century Israel.
The device is rechargeable, can be 
adjusted to a variety of head sizes and 
connects to both a mobile phone app 
and the Cloud, so that 
a particular patient’
s 
experience can be 
compared with others 
to deliver a precise 
electrical “dose.
”
By “dose,
” Dar 
explains that the 
device can dial up and down the six 
electrodes individually, holding out the 
possibility to create a treatment plan 
personalized for each patient.
Neuro-modulation prevents the 
secretion of chemicals in the brain 
that trigger pain. But it also modulates 
the “activation threshold” of the 
neural system, so that the next time a 
migraine trigger is present (whether 
that’
s stress, lack of sleep or even 
chocolate), the nerves will not react as 
severely as before. Neuro-modulation 
is mostly side-effect free.

SMALL AND PORTABLE
One study of the product conducted 

health

Amit Dar

Migraine Relief

Wearable device can offer an over-the-counter 
alternative to pills or surgery.

A women wears the

Neurolief device that is 

designed to treat migraines.

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