Nervonik to present nerve-sensing data from 8-patient study at ASPN 2026
The device recorded electrical nerve signals during peripheral nerve stimulation in a small feasibility study, a step toward closed-loop pain therapy still years from a registrational trial.
Executive Summary
- Nervonik's feasibility study established that its peripheral nerve stimulation device can record electrical nerve signals during stimulation in chronic pain patients, a sensing capability rather than a measure of pain relief.
- Simultaneous stimulation and sensing through the same implanted lead is the enabling step toward closed-loop systems that could adjust therapy automatically, a capability distinct from and prior to any test of clinical benefit.
- The registered study remains in an early, small, non-registrational stage with its completion date pushed years out, so this presentation is a mechanistic milestone within a program still distant from a decision-grade efficacy readout.
- Among named peripheral nerve stimulation and neuromodulation programs, none combines real-time nerve sensing with stimulation in this way, leaving the approach without a direct precedent to benchmark against.
The presentation
Nervonik, Inc. said data from its first-in-human feasibility study will be presented by Timothy Deer, MD, at the ASPN 2026 Annual Conference in Miami Beach, Florida, in July 2026, after the study was selected as a Top Abstract by the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience. The study, conducted with physicians at Hospital Punta Pacifica in Panama City, recorded evoked compound action potentials and muscle potentials from 16 peripheral nerves in 8 chronic pain patients across multiple anatomical targets. Deer said the work represents "the first demonstration in the world that we have been able to record these types of signals from peripheral nerves in chronic pain patients". NervonikNervonik Announces Completion of Groundbreaking First-in-Human Feasibility Study Demonstrating Nerve Sensing during Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Multiple Anatomical TargetsJun 16, 2026
Probability of SuccessBased on the AppliedXL Probability of Success model. For more information about the methodology, read the research here.
What the result establishes
The endpoint here is a sensing capability, not a measure of pain reduction: the device recorded ECAPs, electrical signals nerves generate in response to stimulation, and muscle potentials through the same implanted lead used for stimulation. Nervonik CEO Aydin Babakhani framed the finding as a step toward AI-powered, biosensing-enabled features that could personalize stimulation for each patient. That combination of stimulate-and-record through one lead is the technical prerequisite for a closed-loop system that adjusts therapy based on nerve signal feedback, rather than delivering fixed stimulation. NervonikNervonik Announces Completion of Groundbreaking First-in-Human Feasibility Study Demonstrating Nerve Sensing during Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Multiple Anatomical TargetsJun 16, 2026
Trial status
The underlying study, NCT06772142, is an Early Phase 1, non-registrational feasibility trial recruiting 30 patients in Panama, with a primary completion date that moved from December 2025 to December 2028 as the trial registered a change on April 13, 2026. That is a routine registry update for an Early Phase 1 program still recruiting, not an operational red flag: enrollment remains unchanged at its target of 30, a level the operational model treats as typical for this trial type. NCT06772142Early Feasibility of the Nervonik Peripheral Nerve Stimulation DeviceNCT06772142
The competitive frame
Peripheral nerve stimulation devices for chronic pain are represented by a small set of named programs, including Nalu Medical's peripheral nerve stimulation trial in peripheral neuropathic pain and Boston Scientific's spinal cord stimulation studies, none of which combines real-time nerve sensing with stimulation through the same lead. Given that isolation, the bar for Nervonik's next disclosure is whether the sensing signal can be shown to guide or improve stimulation outcomes in a larger cohort, the step that would move the program from a feasibility finding toward a clinical benefit case.
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