Study Finds That TranS1′S AxiaLIF Has Lower Complication Rates Than Open Techniques

Study: AxiaLIF – Low Complications (written by Walter Eisner @ OTW) A study published in the September issue of the SAS Journal says Trans1′s AxialLIF’s complication rate compares favorably to open fusion approaches. Coverage Is TranS1 finally going to get some love from insurance carriers that have balked at covering the procedure due to [...]

Medtronic, NuVasive Spar Over Surgical Patent Infringement in Jury Trial

Medtronic, NuVasive Spar Over Surgical Patent Infringement in Jury Trial (Bloomberg) Medtronic Inc. (MDT) and NuVasive Inc., makers of medical devices for spinal surgery, are each seeking to convince a San Diego federal jury that the other infringed patents relating to products used in minimally invasive surgeries. Warsaw Orthopedic Inc., a unit of Minneapolis-based Medtronic, accuses San [...]

Total Knee Surgery Performed Using Surgical Navigation on an iPod Touch in Mumbai

Mumbai surgeon performs knee replacement surgery using iPod Touch (Money Control) Orthopedic Surgery With iPod Touch (Technology Review India) In cooperation with orthopedic implant company Smith & Nephew, Arun Mullaji of Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, Maharashtra, has performed the first commercial non-experimental orthopedic (knee replacement) surgery in Asia with the aid of an iPod Touch. Mullaji is a specialist in [...]

Generic Orthopedic Implants’ Time Has Come

OrthoDirect website Generic Orthopedic Implants’ Time Has Come (Written by Blair Rhode, MD, Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon and owner, RoG Sports Medicine @ Beckers) This article was written by Blair Rhode, MD, Sports Medicine Orthopedic Surgeon and owner, RoG Sports Medicine. Orthopedic implants in the United States represent a $20 billion per year industry. Seventy-five percent [...]

AAOS Estimates 600% Increase in Knee Replacements in the Next Decade

AAOS Estimates 600% Increase in Knee Replacements (written by Jonathan Cluett, M.D. @ About.com) The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons estimates that the number of knee replacements performed in the United States will increase by 600% in the next decade. This means, that with over 500,000 knee replacements performed every year at [...]

New CEO, Omar Ishrak, Is Striving to Restore Growth at Medtronic

Omar Ishrak Striving to Restore Growth at Medtronic (written by Lauren Uzdienski @ HealthPointCapital) On Medtronic’s earnings call, new CEO Omar Ishrak announced that his top priority was restoring growth to the company, which he said was achievable by improving execution, optimizing innovation and accelerating globalization. Addressing each initiative individually, Mr. [...]

Researchers Are Competing to Coax Chondrocytes Into Creating Cartilage

New Cartilage for Knee Pain (written by Biloine Young @ OTW) In a process not unlike the race to map the human genome, researchers are competing to coax chondrocytes into creating cartilage—the connective tissue in joints that helps to distribute weight and allows bones to slide past one another without causing pain. Age brings damages to [...]

Report Details Global Tissue and Cell Technologies Available Today in Orthopedic Surgery

Tissue/Cell Technologies in Orthopedics and Spine Surgery (Mediligence) The use of tissue engineering and cell therapy technologies in the treatment of orthopedic and spine disorders and trauma represents a significant current and future market globally. These products, from autologous and other cell/tissue transplants, cell matrices, biomaterials and other products are employed in [...]

A Snapshot of the Q2 Earnings Reports From 18 Orthopedic Companies

Successes and Failures: 18 Orthopedic and Spine Device Companies Battling a Tough Market (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) Here are the results of 18 orthopedic and spine device companies that recently released quarterly financial reports. Alphatec Holdings reported $50.9 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2011, which is a 12 percent increase over [...]

The Stryker Mobile Training Center to Start Touring 10 Cities in China

Strykermobile Begins China Tour (written by Walter Eisner @ OTW) The Strykermobile has hit China to demonstrate and sell the company’s products. Stryker Corp. announced on August 25 that Stryker Greater China’s Mobile Training Center (MTC) is about to begin a one-year, ten-city tour in China. Locations will include smaller locations with [...]

10 Spine Surgeons Focusing on Pediatrics

10 Spine Surgeons Focusing on Pediatrics (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) Here are 10 spine surgeons who have focused their practice on treating pediatric spinal cases. This list is not an endorsement of any organizaiton’s or surgeon’s clinical abilities. Randal R. Betz, MD (Shriners Children’s Hospital, Philadelphia). Dr. Betz is the chief [...]

J&J DePuy Jumps Into the Customized Knee Replacement Market With Its TruMatch System

DePuy Joins Customized Knee Surgery Club (written by Walter Eisner @ OTW) DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. has jumped into the customized knee replacement surgery market with the FDA clearance for the use of its TruMatch Personalized Solutions with the company’s Sigma Fixed-Bearing Knee System. The company joins Biomet, Inc. and Stryker Corp., among others, with [...]

6 Surgeon Tips on How to Use Stryker’S New ShapeMatch System With the Triathlon Total Knee

6 Points on Patient-Specific Knee Replacement Using Stryker’s ShapeMatch Technology (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) The Stryker ShapeMatch Cutting Guides for use with the Triathlon Total Knee System was released in the US about three months ago and has been used around the world for many years to provide surgeons with a preoperative planning [...]

FDA Fields Over 5,000 Complaints for Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements Since January

FDA Fields Over 5,000 Complaints for Metal-on-Metal Hip Replacements Since January (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) More than 5,000 people have reported issues with metal-on-metal hip implants to the Food and Drug Administration since January, according to a report in the New York Times. In the past eight months, the FDA has received more complaints about [...]

Metal-on-Metal Hip Implant Complaints surge… Even as the Dangers Are Studied

Hip Implant Complaints Surge, Even as the Dangers Are Studied (written by BARRY MEIER and JANET ROBERTS @ NYTimes) The federal government has received a surge in complaints in recent months about failed hip replacements, suggesting that serious problems persist with some types of artificial hips even as researchers scramble to evaluate the health dangers. [...]

Wright Medical’S Compliance Officer Resigns Before the Conclusion of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement

Wright Medical Compliance Officer Resigns (written by Walter Eisner @ OTW) Lisa L. Michels resigned as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer of Wright Medical Group Inc., on August 16. The resignation was effective immediately. In an 8-K filing with the Securities Exchange Commission on August 22, the company stated that Ms. Michels is eligible [...]

Patellofemoral Partial Knee Replacement Is a Viable Option for Patients With Kneecap OA

Kneecap Reconstruction a Viable Option (written by Bilione Young @ OTW) Five percent of 500,000 is 25,000. That is the number of patients who got a knee replacement last year who might have been just as well served by having a smaller, more focused surgery. That surgery would have reconstructed just their kneecap—called the [...]

J&J DePuy’S Handling of the ASR Hip Recall Sparks Questions

RPT-INSIGHT-DePuy’s handling of hip recall sparks questions (Reuters) J&J’s DePuy unit hires third party to handle recall Unusual move generates criticism from patients, lawyers DePuy faces more than 2,000 lawsuits in U.S. By Toni Clarke BOSTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), which could face billions of dollars in costs over [...]

What Should We Expect From Medtronic Under Their New CEO?

PREVIEW-Medtronic investors look for new CEO’s plan (Reuters) Medtronic to report earnings on Aug. 23 New CEO to be pressed on long-term strategy Device maker struggling to revive sales in key markets Some analysts brace for company to cut outlook By Susan Kelly CHICAGO, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Medtronic Inc’s (MDT.N) new chief executive, Omar Ishrak, [...]

Facebook Relaxes Its Restrictions on Device Manufacturers

example - Wright Medical’s facebook page Facebook Opens Comments on Device, Drug Manufacturers’ Pages (written by Lauren Uzdienski @ HealthPointCapital) Facebook reversed a policy this week that exempted device and drug manufacturers from opening their walls, or comment pages, on the site. Manufacturers are generally opposed to open comment pages for compliance reasons – posters can [...]

Need a New Hip? Someday You May Grow Your Own

Need a new hip? Someday you may grow your own (USAToday) In a decade or so, people now clamoring for metal and ceramic replacement joints may instead be able to have a fully functional biological replacement — a joint grown within their own bodies to their specific physiology. To date, researchers have successfully grown replacement [...]

Stryker Orthopaedics Licenses Smart Total Knee Trials From OrthoSensor

Stryker Orthopaedics Enters into Agreement with OrthoSensor for Intelligent Surgical Platform (press release) MAHWAH, N.J. and SUNRISE, Fla., Aug. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Stryker Corporation’s Orthopaedics Division and OrthoSensor, Inc., the leader in intelligent orthopaedics, today announced an agreement in which OrthoSensor will provide the OrthoSensor™ Knee Trial, designed for use with Stryker’s Triathlon Knee System. The OrthoSensor [...]

Israeli Startup Focusing on Osteoarthritis Knee Treatment Raises $8M

Knee treatment co Apos raises $8m (Globes Israel Business) The company, which has developed a device for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis by creating multi-directional instability, raised the money from Pitango. Apos Medical and Sports Technology Ltd., which has developed a device for the treatments of knee osteoarthritis, has raised $8 million from Pitango [...]

10 Female Spine Surgeons to Know

10 Female Spine Surgeons to Know (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) Here are 10 women practicing spine surgery, listed in alphabetical order. Carmina F. Angeles, MD, PhD (The NeuroSpine Institute, Eugene, Ore.). Dr. Angeles has a professional interest in minimally invasive procedures for treating common spinal conditions, including degenerative diseases and stenosis. She is also trained [...]

20 Spine Devices That Received FDA 510(k) Clearance in July

20 Spine Devices Receive FDA 510(k) Clearance in July (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) 1. Plateau Spacer System from Life Spine. 2. Viper Systems from Johnson & Johnson. 3. Solanas Avalon Posterior Fixation System from Alphatec Spine. 4. Atlas Spine Pedicle Screw System from Atlas Spine. 5. Exactech Gibralt Spinal System from Exactech. 6. Capstone R. Spinal System from Medtronic Sofamor [...]

The FDA Releases Draft Guidance on the PMA Process

FDA Releases Draft Guidance on the PMA (written by Laura Uzdienzski @ HealthPointCapital) Furthering its efforts at transparency in its regulatory processes, the FDA released new draft guidance on Monday regarding clinical study expectations for medical devices. According to data from 2008-2010, the FDA has struggled to meet its MDUFA objectives of reviewing PMA [...]

Biomet Making Steps Towards a Planned $26M Expansion

Biomet’s upgrades buoy jobs (Journal Gazette) Biomet Inc.’s incremental steps toward a planned $26 million expansion have created 84 new jobs in Warsaw as of July 31, a spokesman told The Journal Gazette. During the company’s fiscal year, which ended May 31, Biomet invested $14 million on new equipment for its advanced manufacturing [...]

Arthrex Expands Into a 240,000 Square Foot Warehouse and Distribution Center

Arthrex purchases Lee County warehouse (NewsPress.org) Arthrex Inc., a medical device manufacturer based in Naples, is expanding into Lee County with the purchase of the former Robb & Stucky warehouse and headquarters on Plantation Road. Arthrex will use the 240,000-square-foot building as a warehouse and distribution center, the company said in a press release. [...]

Medtronic Is Expanding Its Presence in China to 2,000 Employees

Medtronic to Double Chinese Workforce (written by Sander Duncan @ HealthPointCapital) Medtronic sees a bright future in China, seeking to expand its presence in the rapidly-growing Chinese medical device market. China Daily, an English-language newspaper in Singapore, recently reported that Medtronic plans to double its workforce in China to 2,000 employees in a wide range of [...]

Orthopedic 510(k) Clearances in July = 46

46 Orthopedic and Spine Devices Receive FDA 510(k) Clearance in July (written by Laura Miller @ Beckers) 1. Zimmer Segment System Trabecular Metal Proximal Tibial Component, Trabecular Metal Proximal Component, Additional Segment from Zimmer. 2. Trigen Low Profile Bone Screw from Smith & Nephew. 3. U2 Hip System from United Orthopedic. 4. Total Shoulder System from Shoulder [...]

5 Tips for Device Companies in the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) World

5 Tips for Spine Device and Pharmaceutical Companies in the ACO World (Laura Miller @ Beckers) Tony Chen, associate director of government pricing, Alliance Life Sciences, and Robert Fellman, senior health consultant, discuss the impact of accountable care organizations on device and pharmaceutical companies. 1. More outcome data needed in pay-for-performance contracts. As the industry [...]

65 Outstanding Shoulder Surgeons and Specialists

65 Outstanding Shoulder Surgeons and Specialists (Beckers) The following shoulder surgeons and specialists were selected for this list based on the awards they have received from major organizations in the field, leadership in those organizations, work on professional publications and positions of service held at hospitals and practices. The surgeons are listed in alphabetical order [...]

Orthopedic Surgeons in Austin Are Injecting Bone Marrow Stem Cells Into Knee Joints to Reduce Inflammation

Texas Docs Injecting Stem Cells (Bilione Young @ OTW) Dr. Robert Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon in Austin, Texas, took stem cells from the bone marrow of the hip of a 59-year-old man and injected it back into the patient’s knee joints. The result? Johnson said the stem cells reduced inflammation and pain and then became [...]

10 Spine Surgeons Performing Robotic- and Computer-Assisted Surgery

10 Surgeons Performing Robotic- and Computer-Assisted Spine Surgery (Laura Miller @ Beckers) Here are 10 surgeons who are performing robotic- and computer-assisted spine surgery. This list is meant as general information and is not a “top surgeons” list. This list is not an endorsement of any surgeon’s or provider’s clinical abilities.

Study Finds Top-Ranked Hospitals Typically Run by Physicians

Study finds top-ranked hospitals typically run by physicians indings published in Social Science and Medicine report that the top-performing hospitals are typically led by physicians rather than non-physician managers. The conclusions run counter to modern trends in the western world that place generally trained managers — rather than those with medical degrees — at the helm of hospitals. [...]

Zimmer Is Fighting the Legal Advertising in Some 78 Lawsuits Regarding the NexGen Knee

Zimmer Targeting Legal Advertising in NexGen Knee Replacement Fight (NewsInferno) Zimmer Holdings is targeting advertising run by plaintiffs’ law firms involved in the litigation surrounding some of its NexGen knee implant components. According to Bloomberg News, the company has filed suit against several and sent letters to others asserting that their legal advertising and internet [...]

Blackrock, the world’S Largest Asset Management Firm, Takes Big Position in Wright Medical

Blackrock takes big position in Wright Medical (MassDevice) BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) is cashing in some of its chips in a clutch of medical device companies at the same time as it put more skin into Wright Medical Group Inc. (NSDQ:WMGI), according to regulatory filings. The world’s largest asset management firm, which holds major [...]

How Does Recent Scrutiny on Surgeon-Device Company Relationships Impact Orthopedics?

How Does Recent Scrutiny on Surgeon-Device Company Relationships Impact Orthopedics? 5 Responses (Laura Miller @ Beckers) Here are five physician and industry expert responses to the question “How has the recent scrutiny on surgeon-device company relationships impacted orthopedics?” Bruce Darden, MD, Spine Surgeon at OrthoCarolina, Charlotte, N.C. I think this recent scrutiny has affected a lot [...]

Ascendx Spine Closes $4.8M in Financing to Prepare for Launch of VCF Cement Repair System

Ascendx Spine™ Closes on $4.8 Million ‘Mixed’ Financing (press release) WINTER PARK, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ascendx Spine™ (www.ascendxspine.com), formerly AOI Medical, announced today that it closed on a ‘mixed’ financing totaling $4.8 million—which included $1.7 million in cash and the conversion of $3.1 million in debt to common stock. “The current standard procedures for treating vertebral compression fractures [...]

List of 60 Hospitals With Great Orthopedic Programs

Hospital News: Becker’s Hospital Review Announces Publication of “60 Hospitals With Great Orthopedic Programs” (PRWEB) Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading publication offering hospital news, business and legal trends and guidance for hospital executives, is proud to announce the release of “60 Hospitals With Great Orthopedic Programs.” Hospitals were included on this list based on [...]

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February 22, 2012

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