Juvent Brings Its Vibrations To the U.S. Market

For more than two decades the scientists behind Juvent, a medical-device maker in Somerset, have been developing a nondrug treatment for osteoporosis. The disease, marked by fragile and easily broken bones, afflicts more than 10 million Americans-about one third of whom can't tolerate drugs for the condition.

Next month Juvent will introduce a gentle vibrating platform called the Juvent 1000 that is based on this research to the U.S. market-but, ironically, not as an osteoporosis treatment. Instead, the $2,500 device that resembles a wide bathroom scale will be billed as an exercise machine for strengthening muscles, stimulating circulation and improving balance and coordination.

The Juvent 1000 is currently available in Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where governments have OK'd it as a safe and effective treatment for osteoporosis. And the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to install the device on the International Space Station next year to help counter the bone loss that astronauts experience in zero gravity.