Trigger Finger Disorder

EAGAN, Minn., Sept. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonex Health, a leader in the ultrasound-guided treatment of common orthopedic syndromes affecting the extremities, today announced the closing of a Series B financing, raising a total of $40 million. The proceeds from this investment will be used to significantly expand access of the company's groundbreaking commercially available devices that use ultrasound guidance to safely and effectively treat patients suffering from the debilitating pain caused by carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and trigger finger (TF) and allow those patients to rapidly return to normal activities. KCK MedTech, a venture capital firm specializing in medical technology investments, led the company's Series A and Series B financings. In conjunction with this Series B financing, the company also closed on a new debt facility with venture lender, Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN). "We appreciate the continued support and confidence from KCK MedTech and Horizon," said Bob Paulson, president and CEO of Sonex Health. "With this funding, we will continue expanding hand surgeons' access to ultrasound-guided technologies that effectively treat the significant pain and discomfort of patients suffering from CTS and TF, as well as continue to rapidly expand real-world clinical evidence demonstrating the clinical and health economic benefits of providing treatment with ultrasound guidance." Typically, carpal tunnel release (CTR) and trigger finger release (TFR) procedures have been performed in a hospital or an ambulatory surgery center (ASC). The Sonex Health devices used under ultrasound guidance have allowed physicians to move CTR and TFR procedures from surgical suites into lower-cost, office-based procedure rooms to address the increasing patient demand for less-invasive CTR and TFR procedures. Rapid patient enrollment in two recent multi-center, prospective, real-world clinical studies of CTR with ultrasound guidance (CTR-US) demonstrated the strong patient demand and unmet need for minimally invasive treatment options that allow patients to return to their daily activities and work within days versus weeks or longer often seen with surgical approaches. The most recent clinical study also highlighted the ability of physicians using CTR-US to treat patients suffering from bilateral CTS in a single procedure visit, eliminating the need for patients to schedule two separate procedure visits, and allowing patients to rapidly return to normal activities and work following a simultaneous bilateral CTR-US. "We are excited to continue our support of Sonex Health as the company continues to expand access to minimally invasive treatment solutions for patients who have opted out of more invasive procedures," said Karen Long, senior managing director of KCK MedTech. "Highly positive patient and surgeon experiences are a strong indication that carpal tunnel release using ultrasound guidance is poised to become the standard of care." ABOUT SONEX HEALTH Sonex Health, Inc. is a leader in innovative ultrasound-guided therapies to treat common orthopedic conditions affecting the extremities, including entrapment neuropathies and tendinopathies. The company's proprietary devices allow surgeons to use real-time ultrasound guidance to visualize critical anatomy throughout procedures, thereby reducing both invasiveness and the cost of care, and enabling patients to return to their normal activities sooner. The company's first commercial device, UltraGuideCTR™, was designed to treat carpal tunnel syndrome and received FDA clearance in 2019. The company's second commercial device, UltraGuideTFR™ was designed to treat trigger finger, also known as stenosing tenosynovitis, and was released in 2022. For information about Sonex Health, UltraGuideCTR, and UltraGuideTFR visit . ABOUT the Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures Founded in 2018 to support the Sonex Health mission and clinical excellence, the Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures is focused on innovation supported by robust clinical research and world-class professional education and training that transforms the treatment experience for patients, providers, and payers. For more information about the Institute visit . Contact: Shelli Lissick [email protected] 651-276-6922 SOURCE Sonex Health

Locked fingers, known as trigger finger, are more common among people with diabetes than in the general population. A study shows that the risk of being affected increases in the case of high blood sugar. Locked fingers, known as trigger finger, are more common among people with diabetes than in the general population. A study led by Lund University in Sweden shows that the risk of being affected increases in the case of high blood sugar. The study has been published in Diabetes Care. Trigger finger means that one or more fingers, often the ring finger or thumb, ends up in a bent position that is difficult to straighten out. It is due to the thickening of tendons, which bend the finger, and their connective tissue sheath, which means that the finger becomes fixed in a bent position towards the palm. It is a painful condition that can often be treated with cortisone injections, but sometimes requires surgery. "At the hand surgery clinic, we have noted for a long time that people with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, are more often affected by trigger finger. Over 20 percent of those who require surgery for this condition are patients who have, or will develop, diabetes," says Mattias Rydberg, doctoral student at Lund University, resident physician at Skåne University Hospital and first author of the study. To study whether high blood sugar (blood sugar dysregulation) increases the risk of trigger finger, the researchers examined two registers: Region Skåne's healthcare database, which includes all diagnoses, and the Swedish national diabetes register. Between 1 and 1.5 per cent of the population are affected by trigger finger, but the diagnosis arises among 10-15 per cent of those who have diabetes, and the phenomenon appears most in the group with type 1 diabetes. The newly published study strengthens the pattern of blood sugar being a crucial factor for an increased risk of being affected by trigger finger. High blood sugar increased the risk of being affected by trigger finger among both men and women in the groups with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Blood sugar is measured in HbA1C, also referred to as long-term blood sugar, and when regulated, is under 48. The group of men with the worst regulated blood sugar (HbA1C > 64) had up to 5 times as high a risk of being affected than men with well-regulated (HbA1< 48) blood sugar. "However, we can't know for certain if any of the groups seek healthcare more often than others which could be a factor that affects the results," says Mattias Rydberg. The mechanism, or mechanisms, behind the increased risk are unknown, but there are theories that high blood sugar makes both the flexor tendons and their connective tissue sheaths thicker, thus causing them to lock more easily. It was previously known that those with unregulated blood sugar are more prone to nerve entrapments in the hand. "It is important to draw attention to the complications from diabetes and how they can arise in order to discover them early, which enables faster treatment and thus a better outcome. In addition to nerve compressions and trigger finger, there may also be a link with thickening of the connective tissue in the palm (Dupuytren's contracture), impairment of joint movement and the risk of arthritis at the base of the thumb. The mechanisms behind these complications probably differ in the case of diabetes. The results of this study are interesting, as we can show that blood sugar dysregulation has a connection with the development of trigger finger," says Lars B. Dahlin, professor at Lund University and consultant in hand surgery at Skåne University Hospital. The next step in the research will be to chart how effective it is to operate on patients with diabetes who are affected by trigger finger. "From our experience at the clinic, surgery goes well and there are few complications, but it takes a little longer for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to regain full movement and function. We want to investigate this hypothesis further. Another interesting idea is to see if trigger finger could be a warning signal for type 2 diabetes. It is far from all who are affected by trigger finger that have diabetes, but it would be interesting to see if by using modern registers we can discover those who are in the risk zone for developing diabetes," concludes Mattias Rydberg.