Devices · September 2026
Focused ultrasound for facet joint pain and non-invasive magnetic stimulation both cleared the FDA recently. Neither is offered here. Here's why we're telling you about them anyway.
Two devices cleared by the FDA in late 2025 are worth knowing about, because both aim at problems we treat every week. Neither is offered at CPMC today. We are writing about them because patients deserve to hear about developments in the field from their own physician rather than from an advertisement.
The FDA granted De Novo clearance to a system called Neurolyser XR for chronic low back pain. It uses high-intensity focused ultrasound, guided by X-ray imaging, to heat and interrupt the small sensory nerves that carry pain from the facet joints of the spine. The device has also been approved in Europe, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
If that target sounds familiar, it should. It is the same nerve supply addressed by radiofrequency ablation, which we perform regularly. The difference is the energy source and the fact that focused ultrasound does not require a needle to reach the nerve.
The FDA also cleared a peripheral magnetic stimulation system from Magstim for chronic pain. A magnetic coil is positioned over a peripheral nerve, and magnetic pulses influence the nerve through skin and soft tissue — with no implant, needle, or medication involved.
The appeal is obvious for patients who want a drug-free, non-invasive option. As with any newly cleared device, the important questions are which specific pain conditions it helps, how durable the effect is, and how it compares with treatments that already have years of evidence behind them.
FDA clearance is often reported as though it settles the question of whether something works. It is worth understanding what it actually means.
Because you are going to read about them anyway, and the version you find online will usually be written by whoever is selling the device.
Our position on new technology has been consistent. We adopted basivertebral nerve ablation early because it addressed a specific pain source we had no good answer for, and because the patient selection criteria were clear. That is the bar. When a new device meets it, we will look seriously at offering it — and if it does not, we will say so.
If you have read about either of these and want to know whether they would apply to your situation, ask. It is a reasonable question and we will give you a straight answer.
This article is general information about developments in pain medicine. It is not medical advice, not a recommendation for or against any product or treatment, and it does not describe services offered at CPMC unless stated. Whether any of this applies to you depends on your diagnosis and history — that is a conversation for your appointment.