ABOUT CONCEPT LASER

Concept Laser GmbH is one of the world’s leading providers of machine and plant technology for the 3D printing of metal components. Founded by Frank Herzog in 2000, the patented LaserCUSING® process – powder-bed-based laser melting of metals – opens up new freedom to configuring components and also permits the tool-free, economic fabrication of highly complex parts in fairly small batch sizes.

Concept Laser serves various industries, ranging from medical, dental, aerospace, toolmaking and mold construction, automotive and jewelry. Concept Laser machines are compatible with a diverse set of powder materials, such as stainless steel and hot-work steels, aluminum and titanium alloys, as well as precious metals for jewelry and dental applications.

Concept Laser Inc. is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas and is a US-based wholly owned subsidiary of Concept Laser GmbH. For more information, visit our website at www.conceptlaserinc.com

LaserCUSING^® is a registered trademark of Concept Laser.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA (PRWEB) NOVEMBER 29, 2016

AxioMed is pleased to announce the success of the first viscoelastic Freedom cervical case in Australia. Dr. Richard Laherty of Queensland Neurosurgery & Spine Surgery completed the procedure on Monday, November 28th at the Princess Alexandria Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. The procedure was performed on a 47-year-old male patient suffering from degenerative disc disease with radiculopathy, as a result of degenerative cervical discs at levels C5-7. The patient failed conservative treatments prior to undergoing surgery.

The AxioMed viscoelastic disc is a next-generation disc replacement that restores natural disc height, lordosis, stability, and motion in the human spine. AxioMed was approved in September to market and sell their viscoelastic cervical and lumbar Freedom total disc replacements in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Dr. Richard Laherty spoke to the advantages of the AxioMed cervical disc after the operation: “The Freedom cervical disc is extremely easy to implant and has a great anatomical fit for restoring disc height and lordosis in the cervical spines of my patients. I am excited to have this viscoelastic technology that mimics the natural motion of a healthy human disc, and to make this solution available to my patients. It will provide a faster surgical recovery time and increase a patient’s overall health and satisfaction.”

AxioMed CEO Dr. Kingsley Chin explained how an experience like Dr. Laherty’s aligns with AxioMed’s vision: “AxioMed believes it can replicate the success of total joint restoration in the spine with our innovative and advanced viscoelastic total disc replacements with a high degree of patient satisfaction.”

Dr. Chin added, “With the addition of the lateral lumbar technique, we expect AxioMed to be the worldwide leader in disc replacement surgery.”

Dr. Laherty currently practices general neurosurgery with a special interest in minimally invasive surgical techniques for management of complex spine conditions. Dr. Laherty graduated from University of Queensland and completed postgraduate fellowship training at Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane and St. Vincents and Concorde Hospitals in Sydney. He is extensively involved in both research and training young neurosurgeons in the latest technologies via his roles at both Princess Alexandra Hospital and the University of Queensland.

About AxioMed

Founded in 2001, AxioMed (http://www.axiomed.com/) began its journey of exhaustively proving the Freedom® Disc through clinical studies in the USA and Europe, research, development and testing. In 2014, KICVentures recognized the disc’s enormous potential and acquired the company into their healthcare portfolio. AxioMed owns an exclusive viscoelastic material license on its proprietary Freedom Disc technology.

Nov 28, 2016, 7:41 AM –  IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Joimax^®, the global acting German developer and marketer of technologies and training methods for endoscopic minimally invasive spinal surgery, again exhibited at Chinese OrthopedicAssociation (COA), which took place Nov. 17^th to 20^th, 2016 at China National Convention Center in Beijing, China. During the exhibition, the new NASS – joimax^® MISS Training Centre was inaugurated.

The 18^th Chinese Orthopedic Association Annual Meeting and the 11^th International Congress of Chinese Orthopedic Association (COA) this year has again taken place in Beijing and was visited by more than 35,000 surgeons who gathered for the latest research results and up-to-date information on technology and clinical progression in orthopedics including spine surgery. joimax^® had a major presence with a large booth showing its endoscopic minimally invasive product range. Furthermore on the two major meeting days, 30 lectures from well-known experts were given at its booth.

During the COA, the new NASS-joimax^® MISS Training Centre in China was inaugurated on Friday Nov. 18^th, 2016. The ceremony took place at the joimax^® booth together with leaders from the Peking University Third Hospital and members of the NASS Board of Directors. The Chinese market is a very important one for joimax^® because Chinese surgeons are highly interested in adopting and deepening their knowledge in endoscopic minimally invasive techniques. joimax^® is playing a major role in advanced training and is a driving power in the field of continuing education.

“With the launch of TESSYS^® ISeeU^TM, which has been newly designed especially for the Chinese market, joimax^®offers an even more simplified access under facilitated orientation,” says Wolfgang Ries, CEO and founder of joimax^®. “The existing TESSYS^® trays can furthermore be upgraded with the TESSYS^® ISeeU^TM supplements,” he continues.

Moreover, joimax^® also presented its latest product, the newly launched Intracs^® Interaoperative Navigation Tracking & Control System for the first time in China.

About joimax^®

Founded in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2001, joimax^® is the leading developer and marketer of complete systems for endoscopic minimally invasive spinal surgery. With TESSYS^® (transforaminal), iLESSYS^® (interlaminar) and CESSYS^®(cervical) for decompression procedures, MultiZYTE^® RT (e.g. for rhizotomy) and with MultiZYTE^® SI for SI-Joint therapy or with EndoLIF^® and Percusys^® for endoscopic minimally-invasive assisted stabilizations, proven endoscopic systems are provided that, together, cover a whole variety of indications. With the newly launched Intracs® system, navigation is now faster, safer and more accurate than ever before using an electromagnetic (EM) field.

In procedures for herniated disc, stenosis, pain therapy or spinal stabilization treatment, surgeons utilize joimax^®technologies to operate through small incisions – under local or full anesthetic – via tissue and muscle-sparing corridors through natural openings into the spinal canal (e.g. intervertebral foramen, the “Kambin triangle”).

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161128005589/en/

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November 28, 2016

by Tyler Koslow | Nov 2, 2016

When it comes to utilizing 3D printing technology to produce medical devices and tools, there is usually a comprehensive trial that these printed materials must undergo before they can be applied in the healthcare sector. These pre-clinical studies help to unearth the benefits and disadvantages of these potential medical solutions, comparing them to other biocompatible materials that are commonly used in similar applications. The medial technology company Stryker is one of the pioneers of using 3D printing technology to enhance the production of medical devices and implants.

After announcing plans to start construction on a multimillion-dollar 3D printing manufacturing facility earlier this year, Stryker went on to develop their 3D printed Tritanium Posterior Lumbar (PL) Cage Spinal Implant, which was debuted at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting back in May. Last week, the Spine division of the medical technology company announced the completion of a pre-clinical study for this Tritanium PL Interbody Cage.

The results of the study compare their highly porous titanium alloy with the biomechanical, radiographic, and histological performance of commonly used implants with different surface technologies in an ovine lumbar interbody fusion model. The materials involved in the comparative study include traditional PEEK cages and plasma-sprayed titanium-coated PEEK cages. Using their proprietary Tritanium Technology, Stryker was able to produce a material with porous structures that resembles spongy bone tissue.

READ THE REST HERE

IANS | Nov 24, 2016

Spine Navigation Technology – an image-based medical technology – can be the best way to perform delicate and complex spinal surgeries, said doctors on Wednesday.

According to them, the biggest advantage of the Spine Navigation Technology is that doctors are able to operate with better visualisation and more accuracy than ever before.

“The image-based technology used in spinal surgery utilises scans of the patient’s anatomy and instruments that are tracked by the Navigation System’s camera. The specialised software creates a virtual, 3-D model of the patient’s spine, essentially a digital roadmap or blueprint to help guide the surgeon,” said Arvind Kulkarni, Head of Spine Scoliosis and Disc Replacement Centre at Bombay Hospital.

Adding further, he said: “The spine surgeon can use this model to plan the details of the surgery including the number, size and location of implants.”

He said that the new technology used during complex cases enables faster, precise and less invasive spinal procedures in a reduced radiation environment.

READ THE REST HERE

All prosthetic implants are subject to some degree of wear and corrosion in the body. Wear is a mechanical process resulting from changes in load distribution and micro-motion, while corrosion is an electrochemical process of metal degradation. Certain types of corrosion, such as fretting, occur when chemical and mechanical factors, including crevice and abrasive wear, act on the implant.

Both wear and corrosion result in debris release from the implants into the surrounding tissues and subsequently into the human circulation, and can manifest with local and systemic reactions which, over time, may demand revision of components. Although numerous studies have focused on the clinical significance of corrosion and wear of hip and knee replacements, research involving spine instrumentation is not well documented.

Recently, we received spine instrumentation, with cobalt–chrome (CoCr) rods with titanium (Ti) fixtures, of a 36-year-old female patient (Figure 1). She was diagnosed with adult idiopathic scoliosis (Figure 1A); however, soon after surgical implantation (Figure 1B) she experienced persistent pain and muscle fasciculation. Surgeons recommended removal of metalwork after two years of implantation, where intra-operatively they discovered metal staining of the periprosthetic tissue. We analysed the retrieved components in our facilities, and this case will serve here as a running example.

READ THE REST HERE

23rd November 2016

Junyoung Ahn (Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, USA) and others report in The Spine Journal that continued surgical experience in the context of minimally invasive lumbar decompression, with or without discectomy, is associated with reduced operative times and reduced hospital stay, but not improved clinical outcomes. They conclude that a minimally invasive lumbar decompression could, therefore, be performed safely without prior experience.

According to the authors, minimally invasive spinal surgery procedures “carry an inherently difficult” learning curve “based on anecdotal evidence”. Noting that few studies have investigated the learning curve associated with minimally invasive laminectomy or laminotomy, with or without discectomy, they sought to “describe the surgical curve” of this technique using a prospectively maintained surgical registry “with the largest surgical series by a single surgeon to date”.,,

In a primary analysis, the initial 50 consecutive patients of 228 who underwent a level one or two minimally invasive lumbar decompression (with or without discectomy) by a single surgeon were compared with the remaining 178. “Perioperative parameters (preoperative visual analogue scale scores, procedural, estimated blood loss, and length of hospital stay) were assessed between cohorts. Postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and complications were also compared between cohorts,” Ahn et al report.

Both procedural time (52.2±2.2 minutes versus 39.4±19.8 minutes; p<0.001) and length of hospital stay (22.1±25.4 hours versus 15.2±15 hours; p<0.01) were significantly reduced in the second cohort.

Furthermore, the authors comment: “Pearson correlation coefficient demonstrated that the case number is related to decreased surgical time (r=0.23; p<0.001) and decreased length of hospitalisation (r=0.12; p=0.08).” They add that their findings are consistent with those of a study that suggested the learning curve for minimally invasive lumbar discectomy was between 25 and 100 cases, commenting that—in the present study—the “procedural time plateaued following 50 cases, signifying the learning curve of the minimally invasive lumbar decompression”.

However, estimated blood loss, VAS scores, body mass index, complication rates, and recurrent herniation rates (index and adjacent levels) were similar between cohorts. “The rates of reoperation at the index level did not differ between the first and second cohorts (12% versus 8.4%, respectively).

No differences were demonstrated in the rates, indications, and the type of second surgery between cohorts. In addition, no differences were demonstrated in the reoperation rates before and after 12 months following the index procedure,” Ahn et al comment. According to the authors, the recurrent herniation rates, for both cohorts, were “within range” of those reported in previous studies.

Furthermore, in a secondary analysis, Ahn et al compared the first cohort with 50 patients who had undergone open lumbar decompression (by the same surgeon). They found that open surgery was associated with greater procedural time, higher estimated blood loss and longer length of hospital stay, but had similar reoperation rates and 30-day readmission rates to the minimally invasive surgery patients.

Concluding their findings, the authors comment that they “do believe that the refinement of the technique occurs with time as evidenced by the lower reoperation rate (not statistically significant) in the second cohort” but add—given the comparable outcomes and safety between cohorts—that minimally invasive lumbar decompression may initially be performed “without prior experience”. “We believe this finding may be helpful and comforting for those surgeons contemplating the incorporation of minimally invasive surgical decompression techniques into their practice,” Ahn et al add.

Co-author Kern Singh (Chicago, USA) told Spinal News International, “There are many factors that may possibly affect the learning curve for different surgeons. One potential factor includes the amount of prior experience a surgeon has in performing both open and minimally invasive procedures. While it is logical to assume that a more experienced surgeon will have a reduced learning curve for new procedures, further study is necessary to confirm that notion. Multi-surgeon studies are required to better elucidate the effect of surgeon training and years in practice on the learning curve for minimally invasive procedures.”

Writing in an accompanying commentary, Choll W Kim (San Diego, USA) notes that the learning curve “remains a significant factor” affecting the adoption of minimally invasive spinal surgery technologies. He adds that an important aspect of the learning curve “that is often neglected” is the specific training to the surgeon in the operating room before the first case, noting “little attention has been given to the training and preparations of the surgical team for a specific new procedure”. According to Kim, the “skin-to-skin” programme—an intensive two-day course on minimally invasive surgery—focuses on performing procedures multiple times and initial results indicate that it is associated with an improved learning curve and could lead to greater adoption of minimally invasive techniques.

“It is reasonable to assume that the learning curve is not static; it can be affected in multiple ways: training, preparation, changes in equipment, technique modifications, and even identification of disease states and patient factors that make certain surgical procedures more or less difficult. To do this, measurement parameters of the learning curve must be established,” he states.