Effective, patient-centric treatment for overactive bladder seems to be on the horizon in the form of Bluewind Medical’s new device, the RENOVA iStim system. Looking to rewrite the rules for the way overactive bladder (OAB) treatment is administered, the RENOVA iStim plans to take the best parts of current OAB treatments and blend them together to form a futuristic outlook for OAB relief.

When it comes to OAB, the problematic symptoms revolving around urgency, leakage, and frequency often lead to intense feelings of anxiety and shame. Worse than that is how OAB forces patients to always need to be aware of where to find the closest restroom, and to shuffle away during important events in order to take care of their incontinence. These stressful demands can lead patients to feel like their bladder is controlling their lives through constant temper tantrums. Current treatment methods, while mostly effective, still revolve around the same problem of patients feeling like they need to choose a chunk of their life to sacrifice in order to appease their upset bladder.

Bluewind’s RENOVA iStim is a technological revolution because of the way it takes the best factors of different systems and puts them together. The RENOVA iStim is a Tibial Neuromodulation (TNM) therapy device, but unlike current tech, the RENOVA is fully mobile and therapy treatments are patient-centered and able to be conducted at home with little to no fuss. The innovation comes in the form of RENOVA’s wearable device, which patients wear for half an hour twice a day to administer treatment. The device wirelessly connects to a tiny stimulator, only slightly longer than an inch, that is implanted into the patient’s ankle through a simple procedure. Through the stimulator, the device sends a signal up the patient’s tibial nerve to help regulate their bladder. This treatment is simple and non-demanding, allowing the patient to go about their daily routine without having to visit a clinic on a routine basis.

“Advanced Technology - Nerve stimulation efficacy has been well demonstrated, but until now, not patient friendly. Sacral Neuromodulation therapy for example involves a delicate surgical procedure where a large device with an attached wire needs to be implanted in the lower back and buttocks that may lead to a list of complications. Bluewind Medical's RENOVA iStim has the potential to offer a better solution using advanced technology that is less invasive, with fewer complications, in a patient friendly form factor and no need for repeat procedures.”

While the RENOVA iStim is still an investigational device, its OPTIMIST pilot clinical study reported encouraging results. Within 6 months of treatment, more than 50% of patients experienced at least a 50% decrease in OAB symptoms with 28% becoming fully “dry.” More than being effective, however, the treatment is freeing. Patients experience the freedom of reducing the hold OAB has on their lives while also freeing themselves of the time it takes to regularly stop in at a clinic for updated treatments or repeated surgical procedures. Like a weight being lifted, patients who experienced relief due to the RENOVA iStim mentioned how they’ve found a regained freedom to travel and explore, no longer needing to stop for a restroom every twenty minutes.

Futuristic technology with an optimistic outlook for people enduring OAB, Bluewind’s RENOVA iStim system is continuing its investigational studies in 25 clinical centers across 4 countries as it progresses toward FDA market approval. The device is projected to hit the market by mid-2023. For more information on the RENOVA iStim and Bluewind Medical visit their website at BluewindMedical.com or follow them on social media at BluewindMedical.