DOJ Declares War on Orthopedists

Watching a watershed case in Idaho that forces Orthopedists to accept price controls. As some have predicted, “health care reform” has emboldened the Justice Department to take a more active role in enforcing government price controls against physicians. DOJ Declares War on Doctors (Information Liberation) State, feds, Boise-area doctors settle antitrust case (Idaho Statesman)

Medtronic Paid Out $15.7M to US Doctors in Q1

Medtronic Voluntarily Discloses Doctor Pay (WS Journal)

Surgeons Are Dropping Metal-on-Metal Hips

25% of Surveyed Orthopedic Surgeons Plan to Reduce Their Usage of Metal-on-Metal Primary Total Hip Implants Over the Next Year (Millenium Press Release)

FDA Is Talking About Making Applications Transparent to the Public

FDA May Make Application Info Public (HealthPointCapital) Per the recommendations of a transparency task force, a wider range of information about drug and device applications may become publicly available. Currently, the FDA only makes approvals public; an exception is made for applications that call for a panel recommendation, and of course some companies provide updates [...]

Can Medtronic Spine Stop the Market Share Erosion?

Medtronic Sofamor Danek is lost 2.5% market share in Q1 and Kyphon sales are down 4%. Hawkins announced management restructuring is coming. Medtronic’s Spine Flatlining (Orthopedics This Week)

UK Identifies Higher-Than-Anticipated Revision Rate for DePuy’S ASR

Revision rate of 4-5% probably related to cup position. UK Identifies Higher-than-Anticipated Revision Rate for DePuy’s ASR (HealthPointCapital)

Exactech Acquires Polyethylene Supplier for $5.5M Cash

The company wants to control it proprietary technology used in its direct compression molded polyethylene tibial components. Exactech’s Total Knee sales were $75M in 2009. Exactech Acquires Key Supplier, Secures Proprietary Knee Replacement Technology (Press Release)

Survey: a Third of People With Arthritis in the UK Are in So Much Pain They Can’t Have Sex

A third of people with arthritis in the UK are in so much pain they can’t have sex, according to a survey by Arthritis Care (Arthritis Care)

SuperPATH Minimally Invasive Total Hip Procedure Is Marketed by Dr. Chow in Phoenix

Jimmy C. Chow, M.D highlights the SuperPATH, or Supercapsular Percutaneously-Assisted Total Hip, (also known as the “Northern” Approach or “Northern Exposure” http://replacemyhip.com (AZ Center for Bone & Joint Disorders)

Industry Veterans Form VentureMD and Raise Fund to Invest in Medical Device Start-Up

Industry Veterans form VentureMD and Raise Fund to Invest in Medical Device Start-Up (BusinessWire)

Michigan Scientist Discovers Cheaper Way to Roughen the Titanium Implant Surfaces

Michigan Scientist Develops New Nanotube Coating for Implants (HealthPointCapital) Nanotubes that Heal: Engineering Better Orthopedic Implants (Michigan Tech News)

The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) Is Hosting the First Asia-Pacific Meeting

IOF Launches Regional Meetings IOF will be in Singapore Dec 10 – 13, 2010 Epidemiology of Fractures: East vs. West Identifying Gaps in Osteoporosis Management & Strategies to Overcome Them Who to Treat, When to Start, What Drug and How Long? Fracture Prevention in Asia: Where Do We Go from Here

Pseudotumor Formation Was Main Cause of Revision in Study of Metal-on-Metal THA

Pseudotumor formation was main cause of revision in study of metal-on-metal THA (OrthoSuperSite) “We are not sure, but we think all these pseudotumor formations were because of metal hypersensitivity,” Deprez said.

Engineer Developing Robotic Device to Put Back the Pieces in a Complex Fractures

Engineer to create 3D puzzle to mend broken bones (Physorg) Engineer is developing a robotics device that can put the fractures back together as perfectly as possible, using the state of the art of 3D imaging, pattern recognition and robotics.

OrthoX’S New Bone Cement Will Last 100 Times Longer Than Conventional Bone Cements

OrthoX’s innovation is a new kind of bone cement that, according to president and founder James Mason, should last 100 times longer than bone cements currently in use. Finding a new way – Local business recognized for innovation in orthopedics (South Bend Tribune)

Trend – Younger Patients Are Getting Total Knee Replacements

Patients used to have knee replacements in their late 60s or later, Dr. Figgie says he now is more often doing the procedure in folks in their 50s — and not infrequently, in patients in their 40s. Needing a new knee: Are you too young, too old, too fat or too active for a replacement? [...]

Vail Doctor at Center of Growing Niche in Orthopedics: Hip Arthroscopy

Hip surgeries not just for A-Rod anymore (Summit Daily) Used minimally in the 1980s, hip arthroscopies have become much more popular. According to the Millennium Research Group, which tracks medical technology, more than 30,000 hip arthroscopies we re performed in 2008 and the number is expected to rise to 70,000 a year by 2013.

ISTO’s Breakthrough in Cartilage Regeneration —> Harvested Cartilage Cells From Deceased Juveniles

ISTO’s Cartilage Regeneration Breakthrough (Orthopedics This Week) The paper, “The Potential of Human Allogeneic Juvenile Chondrocytes for Restoration of Articular Cartilage,” is scheduled to appear in the July 2010 edition of The American Journal of Sports Medicine.

Olympus Buys $12M of Stock in Small Bone Innovations

Olympus Corporation Makes Strategic Investment in Small Bone Innovations, Inc (BusinessWire)

Pulmonary Emboli After Joint Arthroplasty – Higher Rates Seen in Total Knee Cases and in Women

Higher rate of PE after joint arthroplasty seen in women and TKA cases (OrthoSuperSite)

Researchers in British Columbia Have Synthesized a Protein-Based Material That Stretches Exactly Like Muscle

Researchers in Vancouver, Canada, have synthesized a protein-based material that stretches exactly like muscle. Novel material ‘mimics muscles‘ (BBC News) Biomaterial Stretches Like Muscle (MIT Technology Review)

The Robot War in Total Joints Is Escalating – New Funding for Curexo’S Robodoc Technology

Curexo Technology Corp Raises $13.2 Million (PRNewsWire) ROBODOC, a CUREXO Technology Company (Sacramento, CA) In total hip surgery applications, the ROBODOC system executes exact bone cutting and precise implant placement to reduce surgical fractures and complications and minimize human error, FDA cleared and has been used in over 24,000 joint replacement procedures WW, Currently, new [...]

Good Press for SNN’S Visionaire System for Patient Matched Knees – One patient’S Story

Custom-made joints: Replacement knees now a perfect fit (The Record Herald – Wayneboro, PA)

Is the BIRMINGHAM the Clear Winner Among Hip Resurfacing Systems?

New Data Reinforces the Proven Safety and Effectiveness of the BIRMINGHAM HIP Resurfacing System (PRNewWire)

Stryker Makes Strategic Play Into Robotics

Stryker Enters Strategic Marketing Agreement With Intuitive Surgical (PRNewsWire)

Landec Acquires Lifecore Biomedical for $40M in a Biomaterials Play

Landec Corporation Acquires Lifecore Biomedical (EON) Landec acquires the stock of Lifecore for $40M in cash, plus potential earn-outs for Warburg Pincus of up to $10M.

Musculoskeletal Industry on the Rebound in Q1

Musculoskeletal Industry on the Rebound in Q1 (HealthPointCaptal) There are signs of a rebound in the musculoskeletal industry. HealthPointCapital estimates that the industry is growing at a rate of about 7%, accelerating from 4Q:09

UK Issues Alert for Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements

Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements (Orthopedics This Week) The UK Regulatory Authority (MHRA) issued the medical device alert to healthcare professionals because a small portion of patients with metal-on-metal devices are at risk for developing progressive soft tissue reactions that comes from the wear debris caused by the hip’s movement. Soft tissue necrosis or non-cancerous tumor growth [...]

Wharton Students Propose an Innovative Approach to Pedicle Screw Augmentation in the Osteoporotic Spine

Life Sciences Dominate at Wharton Competition (NYTimes blog) http://www.CorticalConcepts.com

February 22, 2012

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