The Era of 'Medical Chair' Begins... First Medical Device Massage Chair Certified by MFDS Launched (Comprehensive)

Bodyfriend Massage Chair 'Phantom Medical'... Targeting 10,000 Units in the Second Half of This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] A 'medical chair' that helps treat cervical disc herniation and spinal stenosis and alleviates pain has been released. It is the first domestic medical device massage chair certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). This is the first officially recognized product that can relieve symptoms and provide treatment simply through everyday activities of sitting in a massage chair and receiving a massage. It is also regarded as the first step toward 'non-face-to-face medical care,' which measures biological signals through the massage chair and provides medically effective functions.

Bodyfriend announced on the 24th that it has launched the new massage chair 'Phantom Medical,' the first in Korea to receive MFDS medical device certification for functions that treat cervical disc herniation and degenerative spinal stenosis and relieve muscle pain. At the 'Untact Press Conference' held via YouTube Live that morning, Bodyfriend unveiled the 'Phantom Medical' and began rental and sales through 123 directly operated showrooms nationwide and online.

Phantom Medical is a combination medical device that treats cervical disc herniation and degenerative spinal stenosis and relieves muscle pain. The detailed items certified by MFDS as medical devices include an electric air-inflated orthopedic traction device, a medical electromagnetic generator, a medical heating device, and a medical vibrator. The first certified technology is to treat cervical disc herniation and stenosis by pressing, stretching, and tractioning the user's neck area.

Jeon Cheol-jin, a neurology and spinal surgery specialist at Bodyfriend Medical R&D Center who developed Phantom Medical, explained, "The airbag module, which expands and contracts by an air injection unit, applies continuous and repetitive pressure to the back of the user's neck, pushes the neck area, and tractionally stretches the cervical spine to relax the muscles." He added, "The traction and massage distribute the load evenly across the entire back of the neck rather than concentrating it in one spot, helping to treat cervical disc herniation and stenosis."

Pain relief is also a key function of 'Phantom Medical.' It generates pulsed electromagnetic fields along the spinal line to alleviate muscle pain. This treatment is widely used for muscle pain relief. Additionally, Phantom Medical applies vibration and compression stimulation to the back and waist and relaxes muscles and relieves muscle pain through heating effects. This was developed based on a total of five patents and utility models owned by Bodyfriend. Jo Soo-hyun, head of Bodyfriend Medical R&D Center, said, "Many people suffer from cervical disc herniation and stenosis due to continuous computer work and excessive smartphone use. This product was developed with a unified effort by specialized researchers at Bodyfriend’s Medical R&D Center, which pursues the extension of healthy lifespan."

Phantom Medical offers various medical massage programs, including ▲Cervical disc traction treatment mode that treats cervical disc herniation by tractioning the cervical spine with neck airbags ▲Degenerative stenosis treatment mode that gently massages and traction the neck to reduce nerve compression and pain caused by degenerative stenosis ▲PEMF neck mode that focuses on massaging the neck area and relieves neck pain with pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) ▲PEMF waist mode that focuses on massaging the waist area and relieves waist pain with PEMF ▲Thigh stimulation mode that maximizes muscle stimulation and stretches and relieves muscle pain using airbags on the thighs, calves, and ankles.

Market expectations for Phantom Medical, the first medical device massage chair, are also high. Jeon said, "We introduced it in showrooms nationwide in advance, and it already accounts for about 30% of Bodyfriend's total sales. We expect to sell 10,000 units and achieve 50 billion KRW in sales in the second half of the year." Bodyfriend plans to continuously introduce massage chairs with medical effects after Phantom Medical, as various research and development are underway at the Medical R&D Center. Phantom Medical is said to be the first step opening the era of medical chairs at Bodyfriend. Jeon added, "We also plan to release a medical device that measures and manages blood pressure by the end of this year."

Park Sang-hyun, CEO of Bodyfriend, said, "Phantom Medical is a home healthcare medical device that allows millions suffering from cervical disc herniation, stenosis, and related pain to relieve symptoms and receive treatment simply by sitting in the medical chair." He added, "Starting with Phantom Medical, which opened the door to medical chairs, we will develop into a healthcare robot company that improves lifestyle and extends healthy lifespan just by using the product, and we will surely realize the extension of human healthy lifespan by 10 years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.