Published: 2009-10-06 08:20:25
Author: Julie Kay | Miami Herald | September 21, 2009
It was the late 1990s, and chiropractor David Bass was spending long evenings tinkering in his Long Island basement. He was trying to create a machine that would cure -- or at least ease -- a human malady as old as time: the backache.
Decompression machines had jumped onto the scene in the 1990s. Theses long, massage-like tables used computerized technology to gently stretch the neck or back, easing pain and disc pressure and, some say, repairing bulging and herniated discs.
Bass, then a chiropractor for two decades as well as an acupuncturist, had used many of those machines on his patients. But he was frustrated with what he saw as limitations of those devices. He wanted a machine that would not only stretch the spine in one linear direction, but in 10 different directions, depending on the nature of the problem.
"I found the older equipment too limiting,'' Bass said. "They could all decompress the spine nicely but in one linear plane. Many spines have a variety of distortions.''
In 1999, Bass created his first prototype -- made of wood. But with no engineering training, he knew it was time to hire mechanical engineers who could bring his dream to life. Over the next four years, he contracted engineers in Missouri and Long Island to create three more prototypes.
"The trick is finding engineers that can put your thoughts to paper,'' he said.
But the costs of developing his dream machine were eating him alive. So in 2004, Bass moved to Broward County, where he was able to cut his engineering and fabrication costs in half. He also found a partner. Teaming up with Dr. Scott Denny of Davie, he formed Spinetronics, the company that would develop, market and sell the devices.
Two mechanical and electrical engineers were hired and built the final prototype out of extruded aluminum. That became the unit that was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration in 2006 and patented in the United States. Patents are pending internationally on what has been dubbed the Antalgic-Trak (named after a spinal position).
The final product looks like a cross between a dental chair and Disney World ride. Patients are strapped into the chair and then take "a ride'' nearly upside down, where zero gravity eases pressure and pain to such an extent that most patients fall asleep during their treatment.