Orthopaedics

Blue Belt Technologies, Inc. announced the first NavioPFS™ unicondylar knee replacement procedure performed in the United Kingdom. The NavioPFS surgical system represents a new generation of smart instrumentation with robotic control.

Just a month after taking the hot seat, Kevin Lobo has had something we Brits might call a cabinet reshuffle, bringing in a new man to replace himself in heading up the company’s vital orthopedics business.

Medical professionals are always right. They must be, because we don’t bother to regulate their practices, let alone require formal centralised approval of new techniques prior to their introduction. Meanwhile the device industry is increasingly regulated. We ask whether this is all entirely the best way of doing things.

San Francisco sportsmed surgeon Kevin Stone’s eponymous Stone Clinic has formally introduced BioKnee: A natural knee cartilage reconstruction solution clinically-proven to delay the effects of arthritis for up to 12 years.

UK based MIS device company Surgical Innovations (SI) chose last week’s International Society of Hip Arthroscopy (ISHA) meeting in Boston, at which to showcase its pre-production hip arthroscopy products.

Smith & Nephew has chosen to announce the launch of its Trigen™ Low-Profile Screw at this week’s Orthopaedic Trauma Association meeting in Minneapolis. In a press release it says Trigen is the only truly “captured” head, low-profile screw on the market.

Stryker Corporation’s Board of Directors announced today that Kevin A. Lobo has been named the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. He has also been named to the Company’s Board of Directors. Mr. Lobo joined Stryker in April 2011, and was most recently Group President of Stryker Orthopaedics.

Orthopaedic and Sports Med company DePuy Mitek, Inc., has announced the launch of the Healix Advance™ Family of Suture Anchors, a comprehensive new system of rotator cuff anchor and instrumentation solutions. The company says its new anchor design will enable faster insertion into hard bone and maximise fixation and pull-out strength.

Orthopaedic and Sport Med device company DePuy Mitek, Inc.has announced the launch of Endurance Hip Solutions, a new system of instruments and devices that marks the company’s entry into the rapidly growing field of hip arthroscopy.

South Korean manufactured Lospa Knee® System from Corentec features cruciate retaining and posterior stabilised knee within a single system

Smith & Nephew has announced the launch of its Legion™ HK Hinge Knee implant to surgeons in the US and Canada. As the first hinged knee to be designed using normal knee kinematics, the implant provides a new option for those patients facing difficult primary or revision knee surgery.

Combine the strength of steel with the absorption characteristics of a polymer like PLLA and you may have a new category of implant material. So hopes Bio DG which has just been granted a patent in the area.

Biomet is to be the exclusive distributor of Bonesupport’s proprietary Cerament™ bone void filler in an agreement which spans U.S. and Canada.

Trauma and biomaterials company aap Implantate AG. has announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S FDA for the small fragment plating line of its Loqteq® product family.

Extremity Medical LLC claims its device delivers superior compression and stable fixation for fusion while remaining zero profile and avoiding damage to vital articular surfaces. The system has just gained FDA clearance.

Smith & Nephew has announced that the UK’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance supporting the case for utilising the Exogen Ultrasound Bone Healing System. It’s now putting its draft findings out for consultation.