Professor Tay Boon Keng posing with Madam Louisa Chen, a housewife who uses a Bixeps machine from QuantumTX.ST PHOTO LIM YAOHUI
A Singapore-developed device has been approved by the regulatory authorities in Singapore and the US for medical use to improve muscle strength, increase mobility and reduce pain.
This is a feather in Singapore’s cap, but more importantly, the device – known as QMT – and its cheaper precursor Bixeps have implications for our ageing population, as they could provide a safe and non-invasive way for seniors to maintain their muscle strength, which could significantly cut down on falls and fractures.
A 10-year study by Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Institute of Geriatrics and Active Ageing found that
between 13 per cent and 25 per cent of seniors here suffer from sarcopenia, an age-related progressive loss of muscle mass and strength.
Sarcopenia not only causes weakness, but also affects a person’s balance. As a result, people with sarcopenia tend to move less, which in turn leads to greater weakness, obesity, loss of independence and decreased quality of life. It also increases risk of falls and hospitalisation.
HealthHub, the national health portal, states that about one-third of older adults aged 60 and above have fallen more than once, resulting in 18 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men having hip fractures.
It adds: “Falls can result in a variety of complications, ranging from fractures to long-term hospitalisation and loss of self-esteem and confidence. Because the consequences of falls are numerous and significant, falls and their resulting injuries – whether they’re hip fractures or head injuries – are important health issues that cannot be overlooked.”
During the debate in March on his ministry’s budget, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung told Parliament that
the average length of stay in hospitals “jumped abruptly from six days to seven days post-pandemic”, increasing the workload at public hospitals by 15 per cent.
The reason for the increase? “We saw many more seniors with complex conditions,” he said. Seniors are hospitalised for a range of medical conditions, from cancer to pneumonia to, yes, fractures.
While not all causes of hospitalisation can be prevented, there are some that can. For instance, if seniors can maintain their strength, even if for only a few years, they would enjoy greater quality of life and reduce their need of hospital and caregiver services.
In a speech at the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis in December 2022, Mr Ong said: “The incidence of osteoporotic fractures (in Singapore) is projected to increase by about 60 per cent, from more than 15,200 in 2017 to more than 24,000 in 2035.”
If those figures hold true, more than 50 people here would suffer from such fractures every day in 2025. At that event, the direct cost of a fracture was pegged at US$6,818 (S$8,930). There are also indirect costs, such as the need for a caregiver, inability to work and personal suffering.
The Government is well aware of this and has been pushing its active ageing programmes. Singapore now has 223 active ageing centres, and more are on the way. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has an Age Strong programme to encourage better physical, nutritional and mental well-being.
All these help to keep seniors here healthier than their peers in many countries around the world, and are also a reason why life expectancy here is one of the longest, at 83 years (80.7 for men and 85.2 for women).
This is where the QMT and Bixeps come in to help seniors strengthen their muscles.
As the QMT is considered a medical device, it requires a medical professional such as a doctor, physiotherapist or nurse to operate.
Apart from that, Bixeps does pretty much the same thing, and has been sold here for some years as a wellness device.
About 30 senior care centres here have been using Bixeps and found that it has helped their clients maintain and, in some cases, even regain muscle mass and mobility. Some users, especially those who are frail, gain about 250g to 500g of muscle mass after eight weeks on the device.
This is not surprising, as a clinical trial of Bixeps conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong found that, after two 10-minute sessions a week for eight weeks, patients’ ability to function improved by 20 per cent and their pain was reduced by 30 per cent.
A woman using the Bixeps device under supervision. The device can provide a safe and non-invasive way for seniors to maintain their muscle strength.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
The patients in the trial were also required to exercise regularly. Their outcome was compared against that for the control group, which performed a similar exercise regime, but the device they used did not emit any magnetic pulses.
It was a double-blind trial – neither the participants nor the researchers knew which participant had devices that worked and which did not. The study results were published in the reputable Frontiers In Medicine journal in October 2024.
What this means is this device could help many seniors here stay fit and strong. Singapore General Hospital (SGH) orthopaedic surgeon Tay Boon Keng has been putting his patients on the device for more than two years.
“After surgery, if their muscles are weak, they might fall again, so it’s important to strengthen their muscles,” said Professor Tay. The grip-strength test shows the device does help give his patients stronger muscles.
Although a person puts only one, or both, legs into the circular cavity of the device, the resulting effect is on the whole body, as magnetic pulses activate energy-producing mitochondria in muscle cells. This triggers a metabolic response in the cells and releases myokines, which aid the regeneration of muscles. The same response occurs during exercise.
The problem is that care centres that have the device limit their use to their own clients. At SGH, patients are limited to four weeks on the device, since slots are limited.
QMT Quantum Mitohormesis Device (right) and Bixeps machine from QuantumTX at Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
QuantumTX, the company that produces the device, offers its use at three locations. It charges $50 per 10-minute session. It is slightly cheaper for a package of 12 or 24 sessions. The recommendation is to have between one and a maximum of three sessions a week.
But even doing it once a week, which costs $50, is more than what many seniors can afford.
Singapore has about 750,000 people aged 65 years and older who can benefit from using Bixeps – on average, older people lose about 1 per cent of muscle mass a year.
Bixeps alone will not be enough to stop the loss of muscle mass, but it can certainly help to slow down the process. Coupled with higher protein intake and regular exercise, it could extend the active years of seniors here.
The company says that about 10 per cent to 20 per cent of people do not seem to benefit from the device. Prof Tay said one of the things he likes best about Bixeps is its non-intrusive treatment. So even if it does not help, it will not harm.
Perhaps HPB, the Agency for Integrated Care, Sport Singapore or even a third party such as Temasek Foundation could provide enough Bixeps devices so that the majority of seniors can get at least one session a week at a price they can afford.
It makes economic sense for the country to try to keep older Singaporeans healthier for longer, as this would reduce their need for hospital and other medical services.
And for seniors, it gives hope of added years of quality life.
