Mediracer UK Ltd. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Ulnar Nerve Testing

  Mediracer UK Ltd. specializes in CTS = Carpal Tunnel Syndrome testing. The company recently opened a new office in Oxford, United Kingdom.

UK has been an important market for the medical technology company that started 2002. The CEO Veijo Lesonen told that their new UK operation now employs three experts.

- In addition to myself we have Product Manager Pasi Karsikas and Product Specialist Nick Hamer on board since August 16, 2010.

Mediracer is prospecting for an expanding market in the general health care segment. Mr. Lesonen says that the Mediracer Carpal Tunnel Syndrome testing system has already been adapted by fifty organizations in the field of special health care.

- The British health care system is going through fundamental changes and Mediracer wants to take part in this transformation with its point of care testing systems. We’re also launching a new option to test the ulnaris nerve, Veijo Lesonen explains.

The Ulnar Nerve

The ulnar nerve is one of the three main nerves in the arm. It travels from under the collarbone and along the inside of the upper arm. It passes through a tunnel of tissue (the cubital tunnel) behind the inside of the elbow.

- You can feel the nerve through the skin. It is commonly called the "funny bone”, says Mr. Veijo Lesonen.

This new measurement means that the Mediracer’s point of care device can be used to test eighty per cent of the nerve functions in the human hand.

The nerve travels under muscles on the inside of the arm and into the hand on the side of the palm with the little finger. As the nerve enters the hand, it travels through another tunnel (Guyon's canal).

According to the website “Your Orthopaedic Connection”, the  nerve entrapment occurs when the ulnar nerve in the arm becomes compressed.

- When this happens, the nerve does not function normally, explains Veijo Lesonen.

The ulnar nerve functions to give sensation to the little finger and the half of the ring finger that is near the little finger. It also controls most of the little muscles in the hand that help with fine movements, and some of the bigger muscles in the forearm that help to make a strong grip.

UK is important

CEO Veijo Lesonen concludes that the UK market is an important testing ground for Mediracer UK Ltd.

- Finland and the Scandinavian countries combined are less than half of this single market. This is why we are investing in a customer support centre in Oxford, UK.

For more information, please contact:

• www.mediracer.co.uk

Mediracer UK Ltd.
Clarendon House
52 Cornmarket Street
Oxford, OX1 3HJ

Tel.: +44 844 800 2617
Fax: +44 844 800 2618
Email: info (at) mediracer.co.uk

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 1 in 1000 people

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: "This syndrome is a set of symptoms caused by compression (squashing) of the median nerve in the carpal tunnel. About 1 in 1000 people develop this syndrome each year. Most cases occur in people in their 40's and 50's, but it can occur at any age. It is also common during pregnancy. Women are affected 2-3 times more often than men."

National Statistics

In mid-2006 the resident population of the UK was 60,587,000, of which 50,763,000 lived in England. The average age was 39.0 years, an increase on 1971 when it was 34.1 years. In mid-2006 approximately one in five people in the UK were aged under 16 and one in six people were aged 65 or over.

The UK has a growing population. It grew by 349,000 people in the year to mid-2006 (0.6 per cent). The UK population has increased by 8 per cent since 1971, from 55,928,000. Growth has been faster in more recent years. Between mid-1991 and mid-2006 the population grew by an average annual rate of 0.4 per cent and the average growth per year since mid-2001 has been 0.5 per cent.

I start to calculate. This means, there are 50 000 to 60 000 new CTS patients in UK each year. Is that correct? One in 1 000 sounds like a very small number. I read the text again and get the point:

About 1 in 1000 people develop
this syndrome each year.

According to international epidemiological studies, the incidence of carpal tunnel syndrome is 3% in men and 5% in women. We also know that up to 15% of the population suffer from CTS-like symptoms such as numbness, tingling, pain, weakness or clumsiness in the hand!

That means that there are:
50 to 60 000 000 x 3 to 5 % =
1 500 000 to 3 000 000
suffering in UK

Over 80,000 people suffer from these symptoms in Helsinki region alone. Every year, 190 women and 90 men / 100,000 inhabitants are diagnosed with CTS which is which is 3 ‰ (per mille) of the population. The numbers for London are 10 to 15 times the Helsinki figure!

Those figures compare with the story below:

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
4 to 10 million Americans

How many mediracers and orthopedic clinics are needed to handle the CTS diagnostics and hand operations task in Great-Britain?

Take a look at what people are talking about CTS diagnostics, hand surgery and cure after hand operation.

There was this post in Patient UK Experience: "My husband was in touch with Malcolm Clark at Leicester General Hospital. He was sorted within a fortnight. Minor operation took about 30 minutes. We do not live any where near Leicester but the travel was worth it."

Early diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome

I got mail today from David Castle in response to a question on his blog. David's message is clear. CTS should be diagnosed as early as possible. His hand and wrist problem is work related. As an artist he needs a functional and sensitive hand to do his daily work. Waiting for months to get a diagnosis is not the solution.

Hello Helge - I realize my reply is very delayed, but still wanted to send you a response.

Overall, my hands are both doing very well! All of my previous symptoms are 100% gone - included general pain, numbness of my fingers, hand and wrist, cramping and shooting pain up my arm! I'm an artist (painter) and my day-to-day symptoms caused me to stop working several times an hour and, when doing heavy work, stop working completely after a few hours. In the past when I've done heavy work (such as construction) for a week or two, I'd have to stop working completely for several days to recover. All of this has changed completely and I've found I can work without symptoms or stoppage.

I only have some minor sensitivity at the surgery incision site and think it is slowly going away.

I read your description of your device and think it would be a valuable tool for many people that I know that experience symptoms, but don't know (or don't want to have tests done) if they have CTS. This sounds like it could have helped my find a solution much earlier than I did.

Hope that helps - David.

Visit my Blog --> David Castle Art Blog
Visit my Website --> www.DavidCastleArt.com

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Carpal tunnel syndrome: "

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Alternative Names

Repetitive stress injuries.

Diagnosis

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is most accurately diagnosed using the patients' descriptions of symptoms, and electrodiagnostic tests that measure nerve conduction through the hand. If electrodiagnostic testing is not available, then symptom descriptions and a series of physical tests are useful.

Helge: Mediracer is an inexpensive and reliable method for diagnosing Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Diagnosing CTS, however, is not straightforward. Only a small fraction of patients exhibit all three factors necessary for a clear diagnosis:

• Classic CTS symptoms
• Specific physical findings
• Abnormal electrodiagnostic test results

Many people have abnormal electrodiagnostic test results without classic symptoms or any symptoms at all. Furthermore, about 15% of the population has symptoms consistent with CTS, but most do not show test results indicating the disorder. In fact, in a 2001 study, some patients who had symptoms, but whose nerve and physical tests were normal, still experienced relief after CTS surgery.

Helge: What about this?