Seems the DRX9000 spinal decompression table is back in the news again. Turns out that Axiom Worldwide, the manufacturer of the DRX, is now under investigation by the FBI.

I don’t have a lot of details on this yet, but here is a news story that ran on March 8, 2007:

FBI Raids Medical Supply Business

By KEITH MORELLI
The Tampa Tribune

TAMPA – Agents from the FBI raided Axiom Worldwide this morning, carrying boxes and bags to a large white van parked in a disabled parking spot in front of the business.

They said nothing about the investigation or what they were confiscating.
Axiom Worldwide is a medical supply manufacturing and delivery business that is located at 9423 Corporate Lakes Drive, just north of the Anderson Road ramp to the Veterans Expressway.

Morelli goes on to write:

The flagship product of the business is a device that is sold to doctors who treat back pain. The spinal decompression table is designed to relieve lower back pain, according to the company’s Web site.

Telephone calls to Axiom, which designs, which also builds and delivers other non-surgical instruments, went unanswered during the raid.

Rumor has it that the allegations leveled against Axiom are:

  • Axiom instructs DRX 9000 clinic owners how to defraud insurance companies in the training manuals that come with the machine.
  • Axiom provides false advertising materials … in the form of slick infomercials and print advertising … as part of the DRX-9000 package.
  • Claims of FDA approval are distorted and misrepresented as a selling point in the commercials. The truth is, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never evaluated the machine for safety or effectiveness. As it turns out, the DRX was grandfathered in because it is similar to other traction tables and, therefore, considered an existing medical device.
  • The claim by Axiom that their machine is based on NASA research is a total fabrication. NASA has never played a part in the development of the DRX or any other spinal decompression machine.

For more on the legal troubles surrounding the DRX, be sure to read my earlier post: DRX 9000 Under Investigation.

And also be sure to check out the forum discussions on this topic including this one: DRX 9000 Spinal Decompression Unit.