Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) is a prevalent chronic condition that greatly affects patient quality of life. Transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (TTNS) has recently been proven to be a safe and effective non-invasive treatment modality for OAB. However, existing electrical stimulators are relatively large, relying on adhesive hydrogel electrodes, and may require professional assistance, which could hinder patient adherence and treatment consistency. To address these, a compact and wearable electrical stimulator (TENSmini) with integrated textile electrodes was developed. Although laboratory tests confirmed its safety, the therapeutic efficacy remains under-explored. The present benchmarking study evaluated the short-term feasibility of the TENSmini for bladder function modulation against a clinically-approved device. A total of 47 healthy participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to three groups: TENSmini, a clinical-grade stimulator (DS7A), or Sham to receive TTNS. The results indicated that TENSmini achieved inhibitory effects on bladder micturition reflexes comparable to those of DS7A. Both active TTNS groups demonstrated significant differences from the placebo group. These findings suggest that TENSmini would be a viable alternative for the management of OAB. Future studies would focus on evaluating their long-term therapeutic effectiveness, usability, and impact on patient adherence in clinical trials.
IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. 2025 May 29 [Epub ahead of print]
Wei Ju, Aidan McConnell-Trevillion, David Alejandro Vaca-Benavides, Susan D Shenkin, Srinjoy Mitra, Kianoush Nazarpour