• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.652-662
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• 2022

Currently, in the field of spinal surgery around the world, various new technologies have been rapidly developed and applied to patients. The author believes that it is necessary to discuss whether these new technologies are being fully reviewed for efficacy and safety before being applied to patients. To consider this issue, the author analyzed the basic research data and clinical application process of the intradiscal electrothermal therapy, which was developed as a new technology for discogenic pain disease in the 2000s and has been widely used worldwide. As a result, it was found that this procedure has been performed on patients in a state where there is insufficient base research on efficacy and safety. The author judges that this case reveals an essential problem related to the clinical operation of new medical technologies in the field of spine surgery. Therefore, the author believes that in order to minimize the side effects that new medical technology in the field of spinal surgery may have on patients, more full-fledged basic research and higher clinical acceptance standards should be established.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.311-320
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• 2019

Discogenic pain which develops during the degenerative process of intervertebral disc is an intractable disease of musculoskeletal system. Unlike other diseases in modern medical science, it is not clinically confirmed through objective imaging and clinicopathologic index. Moreover, current technology has been facing difficulties finding fundamental treatment. This study examined through reviewing literature whether the therapeutic rationales of interventional procedures for the discogenic pain, such as nerve block, intradiscal electrothermal therapy and nucleoplasty, are valid and whether safety reviews such as preclinical tests are carried out faithfully during the technology development process. As a result, it is presumed that there is not yet an interventional treatment for discogenic pain, whose therapeutic rationale has been objectively verified. And there are some cases of interventional treatment that have not been adequately equipped with the preclinical test steps necessary to review the safety of the procedure during the technology development process. In conclusion, since there is still no interventional treatment for discogenic pain which has clear therapeutic rationale, it is necessary to recognize that a more careful approach is needed to judge whether the procedure is performed in clinical settings. And medical ethical issues may arise for some interventional treatment that are deemed to have been carried out without a thorough review of safety.