Orthopaedics

AANA is probably the world’s best known annual forum for all things arthroscopy. It’s being held right now in Orlando and the program looks like the usual excellent selection of guest speakers and papers.

We’d not heard of them, but it appears that Orthopedic Synergies Inc’s burgeoning portfolio of companies including OMNILife sciences Inc, have been quietly getting on with developing and implanting their computer assisted Apex knee replacement to the tune of 1000 patients.

Biomedical Structures LLC reckons its newly-unveiled high-precision tapering textiles could be used to create more lifelike synthetic scaffolds

It’s EFORT time again in just over a week, so Europe’s Orthopaedic and Trauma will be pitching up to show off their new goodies.

So the EU (European Commission) funds a collaborative project to develop a technology that addresses a very real (and rather high profile) clinical need. Collaborating companies benefit and so thrive and employ more people, in so doing addressing the need to do just that. This new continental collaborative concept might just work and if it does everyone’s a winner.

When politicians get involved in issues some of us have spent decades involved with, the result is bound to have a few badly thought through components. In the case of the European MEPs they’ve done an acceptable job of identifying the medtech regulatory issues, tinged with a bit of populist reactionary stuff that would serve nobody.

Orthofix’s foray into bracing and cold therapy is over with its announcement that it’s selling Breg, acquired in 2003.

You’d have thought ligament fixation device design had been done to death, but marginal benefits still count in what is a sizeable market, so Smith & Nephew’s new “open architecture” anchor should find customers. After twenty years of anchors, quite what a shoulder surgeon might be so dissatisfied with that this new device addresses is beyond us, but it looks a smart enough idea.

Nanotechnology to combine HA and Growth factors could be the best coating solution for inducing osteo-integration of hip and knee prostheses, trauma products, dental implants.

There was an inevitability about the whole thing, but still J&J and Synthes execs must be relieved that the EU commission into their mega deal has agreed to the takeover following J&J’s concessionary divestiture of its existing trauma business. Wonder how those guys are feeling though.

It may seem a bit obvious to suggest that downward price pressure and more central contracts will be offset by an ageing population and growing procedure base in the trauma market for the next few years. But at least MRG has done its homework in what looks like a valuable and detailed report.

Stretching definitions is what we do best, so why not call a helicopter a medical device if it’s an intrinsic tool for saving lives. This interesting piece admittedly leaves too many questions unanswered, but does at least prove that your survival is likely to be 1-2% better if you’re scraped into a whirlybird than a van.

Stryker’s financial report for Q1 looks pretty rosy as sales and profits climb nicely. Projections are pretty conservative though with anticipated sales growth of 2-5% for the year.

SafeWire launches Y-Wire™, designed to increase safety while placing cannulated instruments and implants by halting forward progress once dispensed.

MedShape’s Chairman and CEO tells us more about the success of the company’s products, especially its ExoShape ACL tibial graft fixation device, and plans for a European launch.

Heavy hitters attending Europe’s premier Trauma, Knee surgery and Arthroscopy congress next month.