NICE Recognise IQoro for Treatment of Hiatus Hernia
NICE Recognise IQoro® for Treatment of Hiatus Hernia
– at least 13 million people in the UK are affected.
Hiatus Hernia is a condition that can affect up to at least 13 million people in the UK but could be many more. It causes for example the symptoms of reflux, heartburn, the feeling of food being stuck in the chest. Alternative descriptions are GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), LPR, Silent Reflux, or GORD.
This innovative Swedish device and treatment has been successfully used by thousands of sufferers to address the underlying cause of the problem, rather than to mask the symptoms with medication. IQoro does this by strengthening and rejuvenating the body’s own natural neuromuscular mechanisms by training with this pocketsized device just 30 seconds, three times per day.
Now this revolutionary method has been assessed and publicised by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). NICE is responsible for advising and supporting NHS and social care commissioners and staff who are considering using new medical devices.
NICE has recognised IQoro as a Hiatus Hernia treatment in a Medtech Innovation Briefing (MIB) released on the 6th of March.
The briefing notes that:
– The innovative aspects are that IQoro is the only device available for treating Hiatus Hernia with oral, neuromuscular training and an exercise regime, and that the intended place in therapy would be as an alternative to long-term Proton Pump Inhibitor treatment or to Laparascopic Fundoplication surgery in people with Hiatus Hernia.
In the scientific papers assessed and referenced by NICE, studies show that most sufferers – of all ages, bodyweight types, and even those that have been long-term users of PPI medication – can rid themselves of their symptoms.
Terry Morris, Business Development Director at MYoroface AB, the Swedish manufacturers of IQoro, has been responsible for the company’s application for MIB status,
– A hiatal hernia usually means that the neck of the stomach can slide up into the chest cavity through a weakened or ruptured diaphragm. Once in this wrong position, stomach contents can reflux into the esophagus causing the painful and distressing symptoms that so many suffer from. Our treatment is not based on masking these acid reflux symptoms with drugs, but on exercising the muscles and the nerves that control them to repair the diaphragm rupture.
The NICE Medtech Innovation Briefing for IQoro points out the innovative nature of the device and its potential to save the NHS money. A NICE spokesperson said:
– The NICE MIB highlights the innovative nature of IQoro as being its uniqueness in treating Hiatus Hernia through an exercise regime with an oral device. It also highlights that the resource impact of using IQoro could be to reduce costs for the NHS in the long term – one of the main points of our analysis of possible cost savings in this briefing is the device’s potential to be resource releasing when compared to long term PPI maintenance.