Khan Kinetic Treatment (KKT) is notable for being one of the few nonsurgical medical devices used typically for the treatment of spinal cord injury, whiplash, herniated disks, back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis, and headache. The KKT device, invented by Dr. A.H. Khan, is placed on the spine and induces a small amplitude, high-frequency sine wave into the tissues of the entire spine and cranium.
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The KKT device
The KKT is a spinal and upper cervical treatment device consisting of a controller mounted on top of an impulse delivery mechanism, or device head, which is mounted on a movable armature to a fixed stand. The device head generates waveforms and the stylus, located at the base of the device head mechanically transduces the waveforms through the skin and ultimately to the spine, causing minor vibration of the vertebrae and minor repetitive stretching/activation of the attached soft tissues. The device head may be freely moved in 3 dimensions so that the stylus may be positioned accurately on the skin. The stylus delivers sinusoidal waveforms of various frequencies (80 to 120 Hz) and amplitudes both linearly and rotationally to the spinous or transverse processes of the spine through the skin.
Operational mechanism and theory
Prior to treatment, 3 digital radiographs are taken of the cervical spine (coronal, sagittal, and transverse planes). Software receiving the patients’ intake digital radiographs automatically calculates the 3-dimensinal orientation (x, y, and z) of the atlas as compared with the occipital condyles (C0) and the axis (C2). Clinical decisions for the treatment follow standard clinical protocol.
Once the precise location and type (amplitude, frequency, duration of pulses, and number of pulses) of necessary treatment is determined, the treatment parameters are saved for a particular patient and either sent to the KKT from a desktop computer or directly programmed into the KKT using touch-screen software located on the device head. The data are electronically archived for each patient. After appropriately placing the patient on the treatment table, the device head is manipulated in 3 dimensions. To ensure the appropriate impulse vector, the controller has accelerometers to obtain precise stylus position feedback on the touch-screen display. When the correct impulse vector of the stylus is achieved, the device head is lowered so that the stylus makes skin contact and is then locked in position before treatment. Only then the device may begin when initiated by the clinician.
The KKT Spine treatment device is designed to provide accurate and repeatable placement on the patient and then impart highly controlled, repetitive sine wave impulses to the treatment site. The force of the impulses is very low (5.5 N to about 12.2 N), hence there is little or no potential for injury to the patient.
Clinical Research
The KKT spine treatment device is supported and advanced by continuing partnerships and studies in both McGill University and the University of Calgary. Clinical test have shown that recipients of the KKT system have reported a lower use of pain medication. Research data have demonstrated bio-mechanical evidence of KKT’s ability to decrease pain and improve neck disability in patients with chronic pain. Further, the method of treatment has actively demonstrated potential for tissue regeneration. KKT has been reviewed in such medical publications as The Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain, the American Journal of Pain Management, and the Clinical Journal of Pain. But those studies are funded by the company and only used questionnaires to assess improvements subjectively felt by the participants, without controlling for placebo effect. No objective evidence exists that KKT has any therapeutic effect; no blinded randomized placebo controlled trials has been carried out.