Mediaseek’s proprietary neurofeedback engine Alpha Switch and its smartphone application were used in a research paper on chronic low back pain treatment at the Pain Center of Chiba University Hospital published in the international journal Scientific Reports.

Mediaseek, Inc. (referred to as Mediaseek; Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Naoki Nishio) is pleased to announce that a research article on the treatment of nonspecific chronic low back pain, conducted by the Pain Center of Chiba University Hospital (Director: Prof. Seiji Ohtori) using its proprietary neurofeedback engine ALPHA SWITCH and the smartphone application equipped with this engine, has been published in Scientific Reports, an international peer-reviewed journal.

■ Research article

Article title: New treatment strategy for chronic low back pain with alpha wave neurofeedback

Journal:  Scientific Reports

URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-18931-0

Study type: prospective longitudinal / randomized controlled trial

■ Study details

A new treatment strategy using neurofeedback, pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and exercise therapy, was tested in patients with nonspecific low back pain with no identifiable cause at the Pain Center, Chiba University Hospital, under the direction of Assistant Professor Keisuke Shimizu.

The results showed that patients with intractable low back pain that was untreatable by existing standard treatments such as medication and blocked injections showed significant improvement in pain intensity following a new treatment method that combined cognitive-behavioral therapy and exercise therapy with neurofeedback training. The synergistic effect of combining cognitive-behavioral therapy and neurofeedback in the early post-chronicity period was particularly high, indicating that neurofeedback plays a role in enhancing the therapeutic effects of existing treatment methods such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.

With a lifetime prevalence rate of 83%, back pain is said to be one of the most common health problems among Japanese people, and its estimated cost to the economy is as much as ¥3 trillion per year. This study showed the effectiveness of a novel treatment protocol for low back pain that incorporates neurofeedback.

Mediaseek, registered with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a medical device manufacturer, plans to utilize these research results while developing its own medical device program using brain technology. We will continue to research, develop and provide neurofeedback engines for a wide range of applications. At the same time, we intend to focus on developing services such as smartphone applications for treatment.

Mediaseek develops business systems (primarily systems for education providers), image analysis technology (primarily barcode reader engines and application development), and AI (trend forecasting and Neurofeedback). Since 2017, we have also been working on brain technology and digital medical services as a new business segment that combines neuroscience and IT.