Jerry Lewis is one of about 110,000 Americans receiving pain relief with the electrical stimulation devices made by Medtronic, a Minneapolis-based company.

Lewis' fully implanted device, which is about the size of a heart pacemaker, delivers low-voltage stimulation to his spinal cord. The comedian says he suffered chronic pain, the result of numerous pratfalls, for nearly 40 years until receiving the nerve stimulation device in April.

The $12,000 device, usually placed under the skin of the abdomen, contains a special battery to create electrical impulses. Patients may briefly stay in the hospital after surgery to implant the device and the connecting wires that carry the electrical impulses to the spinal cord. It also can be removed if patients no longer want it.

Alternatively, patients can chose to wear a battery source outside the body, eliminating the need for a surgical procedure to replace it when it wears out.

Patients can adjust the level of stimulation delivered by the device, within the limits set by their doctor, or turn it on or off. Medtronic spokesman Bob Hanvik says Lewis carries his programmer "on a keychain with a rabbit's foot for good luck."

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