Headband that helps fight migraines set to take on US market
US approval means a small company from Belgium is likely to see sales explode
A small technology company based in southern Belgium is set to take on the giant US market with its crowning achievement: an anti-migraine headband.
The device, created after years of medical and technological research, is a diadem fitted with electrodes designed to take the edge off migraines before they develop into acute blinding pain.
Migraine, a deep headache that develops behind the eyes and can last for days, is estimated to affect about one in seven adults around the world, World Health Organisation data shows.
It appears to be less common in East Asia, but overall it affects up to three times more women than men because of differences in hormonal activity.
The band, developed by the Belgian company Cefaly Technology, is worn across the forehead, and sends electric currents to facial nerves. Although the device is not a cure, the manufacturers believe it could stop the transition from "episodic" migraines to the "chronic" category.
The WHO says that migraine is one of the top 20 causes of disability in terms of years of healthy life lost.
The battery-powered headband, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March, will be the first device with this design available in the United States.