Listen to this articleNorthwell Health is opening its first Center for Bioelectronic Medicine at 330 Community Drive in Manhasset.
With bioelectronic medicine, medical experts focus on methods to treat diseases through electrical signals that help the body to heal. At the Manhasset center, people can pursue enrolling in bioelectronic medicine clinical trials, including studies evaluating vagus nerve stimulation. As bioelectronic medicine devices are approved for use, they will be offered to patients at the center.
Northwell plans to relocate and expand the Manhasset center, as well as open a second center in Manhattan.
“Northwell Health prides itself on offering patients innovative treatment,” Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, said in a news release about the center.
“Bioelectronic medicine has shown benefit to patients in clinical trials, and with the development and expansion of the field, we have an opportunity to offer this cutting-edge treatment to our patients,” he said. “Northwell’s Center for Bioelectronic Medicine is a unique destination where doctors, scientists and patients will explore and potentially benefit from today’s medical advancements.”
Dr. Kevin Tracey, president and CEO of Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, is recognized for his pioneering research in bioelectronic medicine. He and collaborators spent nearly four decades publishing discoveries about a link between the brain, immune system and inflammation and whether a connection could be modulated through technology and electrical signals, including vagus nerve stimulation.
“There is optimism that bioelectronic medicine could replace some drugs that have serious side effects and associated costs, and I am interested in continuing research in this field to better understand the language of the nervous system and see if we can use that knowledge to help the body heal itself,” Tracey said in the news release.
“Clinical trial participants are my heroes — their courage and commitment send ripples of change throughout medicine, bringing us closer to a future where we can treat diseases in safer, more effective and personalized ways,” he said.
Northwell became the site in 2023 for a clinical trial by SetPoint Medical, a healthcare company that aims to treat patients with chronic autoimmune diseases; Tracey is an advisor at the company. Dawn Steiner, a Massapequa resident who copes with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), enrolled in the SetPoint study.
“A year after receiving this therapy, I feel as good as I did before my RA diagnosis — like a different person,” she said in the news release.
“I feel better, and I’m able to just feel healthy and do all the things that make me happy without those awful, awful medications,” Steiner said. “To the researchers, thank you! I’m so glad you looked into a different type of technology. From my perspective, this is the future of rheumatoid arthritis treatment.”
The new center plans to connect patients to medical trials at Northwell. This includes studies for trials for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease, methods to stop excessive bleeding, treatments for post-traumatic stress disorders and brain implant applications to reverse paralysis.
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