Stryker Presents First K9s For Warriors Donation At The Honda Classic

Posted On February 21, 2017 By OrthoSpineNews In Sports Medicine, Top Stories /

MAHWAH, N.J., Feb. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Stryker Orthopaedics is pleased to announce its second PGA TOUR stop of 2017 with a first-ever appearance at The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Throughout the tournament, Stryker will further its commitment to joint health and to the nation’s military through a series of engaging activities for fans and tournament goers. On Thursday, Stryker will host a special K9s For Warriors ceremony, presenting one military hero with a service dog – Stryker’s first official canine sponsorship donation of the year.

As an extension of a successful relationship that began last year, in 2017 Stryker will continue to give a new leash on life to military heroes by sponsoring service canines and empowering veterans to return to civilian life with dignity and independence. Tournament goers can also show their support to veterans by purchasing the same hat that PGA TOUR professionals and longtime brand ambassadors, Fred Funk and Hal Sutton wear on TOUR at the newly renovated Mobility Zone – Stryker’s premiere “joint health” destination. With each hat purchase, Stryker will make a donation to the K9s For Warriors organization.

“This donation is just one of many ways in which we are honored to show our appreciation towards our nation’s veterans,” said Bill Huffnagle, President, Stryker’s Joint Replacement Division. “Stryker is proud to support our military and continue our mission to educate people about joint health and mobility in local communities across the nation.”

In addition to offering hats for sale to benefit K9s For Warriors, fans visiting The Mobility Zone will be able to learn about hip and knee pain and treatment options, as well as participate in fun, health inspired activities. Inside The Mobility Zone, fans can participate in the 2017 Stryker Challenge – a hands-on experience featuring Art H. Ritis, a life-size model that aims to provide tournament goers a basic understanding of joint replacement surgery and Stryker’s products. In addition, fans who stop by The Mobility Zone will be able to enter for a chance to win a trip for two to Atlanta, GA for the TOUR Championship® and walk inside the ropes as an honorary observer – a true VIP experience.^1,2

Finally, to further demonstrate its commitment to motivating fans to stay active, Stryker will host the Health Walk at The Honda Classic. The Health Walk highlights joint health facts and tips along the course to educate fans as they follow their favorite golfers.

For a full list of tournaments stops, additional information on the Stryker Challenge as well as K9s For Warriors involvement, please visit: www.StrykerChallenge.com.

Healthcare Professionals (HCPs) are not eligible to enter the Stryker Challenge Sweepstakes or participate in the any of these promotions. HCPs are defined as those individuals or entities involved in the provision of health care services and/or items to patients, which purchase, lease, recommend, use, arrange for the purchase or lease of, or prescribe Stryker’s products.
No purchase necessary to enter or win Sweepstakes. Void where prohibited by law. For official rules visit StrykerChallenge.com. Open to legal residents of the US & US Territories, 21+ as of date of entry. Sweepstakes begins at 12:01 am ET on 1/11/17 and ends at 11:59 pm ET on 8/27/17. Sponsored by Stryker.

About Stryker
Stryker is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies and, together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better. The Company offers a diverse array of innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes. Stryker is active in over 100 countries around the world.

About PGA TOUR
The PGA TOUR is the world’s premier membership organization for touring professional golfers, co-sanctioning more than 130 tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Web.com Tour, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR China.

Trump Said to Discuss Veterans’ Care Overhaul With Hospital CEOs

Posted On December 29, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Regulatory, Top Stories /

By Zachary Tracer, Shannon Pettypiece and Jennifer Epstein – December 28, 2016

President-elect Donald Trump met at his Florida resort on Wednesday with leaders of top U.S. nonprofit hospital systems to discuss overhauling health care for veterans, including by allowing them to more readily visit hospitals outside the Veterans Affairs system.

The group weighed public-private partnerships and other options that would make it possible for veterans to go to any hospital for care, inside the VA system or outside of it, a senior transition official said after the meeting. Some veterans advocacy groups have cautioned against expanding access to care outside the government-run hospitals under the Veterans Health Administration, fearing the system may be weakened by privatization.

The VA system spends about $70 billion a year on medical care, offering a potential windfall to private hospitals if more veterans are allowed into their beds.

John Noseworthy, chief executive officer of the Mayo Clinic; Paul Rothman, CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine; David Torchiana, CEO of Partners HealthCare; and Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, whom Trump interviewed for VA secretary, traveled to Palm Beach for the meeting. A restructuring consultant, Marc Sherman of the firm Alvarez & Marsal, also participated, according to the transition official, who described the meeting on condition of anonymity.

A person close to Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter said he also participated in a meeting with Trump and the health-care executives. Perlmutter has contributed $50 million to New York University Langone Medical Center, where the cancer center is named for him and his wife.

‘Health Outcomes’

The hospital executives left the meeting without speaking to reporters, and their institutions provided little detail. Rothman, in a message to Johns Hopkins staff obtained by Bloomberg, said the meeting with Trump “reflects his recognition of the critical importance of health care and biomedical research to the country.”

READ THE REST HERE

Offering small orthopedic companies a competitive edge — Ortho Sales Partners’ purpose

Posted On December 15, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Recon, Spine, Top Stories /

Written by Megan Wood | Thursday, 15 December 2016

Young companies must overcome innumerable obstacles to introduce a product to market. Entrepreneurism takes a lot of gut, strategy and talent.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Ortho Sales Partners is ready to help small companies navigate that rocky road to commercialization in the orthopedic field. The orthopedic market, especially, contains a flood of small companies with impressive technology and no voice.

“We help create that strategy,” explains Josh Sandberg, co-founder and general manager of Ortho Sales Partners. “There are a lot of landmines out there and we try to leverage the experience from seasoned executives for our clients who lack the ability to attract and hire them.”

With Ortho Sales Partners in their corner, small companies are able to approach the market with a lower risk burden. The cost of approaching the market from an OUS company or surgeon-developed technology perspective proves daunting.

Specifically, Ortho Sales Partners collaborates well with:

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How Surgeons Stay Focused for Hours

Posted On November 25, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Top Stories /

By Lucette Lagnado, Nov. 16, 2016

Organ-transplant surgeons have skills most of us can only dream about. One, concentrating for hours straight, is something we can aspire to.

Transplanting a liver can take eight to 10 hours. Surgeons are on their feet the whole time, hunched over the operating table. They minimize breaks for the bathroom or refreshments. And they need frequently to be on call, ready to perform an operation whenever an organ becomes available.

Members of the abdominal-organ transplant team at Montefiore Einstein Center for Transplantation, in Bronx, N.Y., have carefully honed strategies they use inside the operating room, and away from the job, to push through long surgical procedures. Some techniques are simple, like wearing comfortable shoes. Others stem from an awareness that implanting a new organ can save a patient’s life.

“You get into a zone when you are operating,” says Milan Kinkhabwala, chief of transplant surgery at the center, part of the Montefiore Health System. “Your mind is so focused on what you are doing, you are not aware of time.”

Transplant surgeons, whose work includes stitching minuscule blood vessels together, minimize their distractions. No one checks cellphones in the operating room during surgery. The surgeons often wear loupes mounted on eye glasses to magnify their work, which limits their field of vision to a few inches.

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Artoss Announces FDA Clearance to Market of NanoBone® SBX Putty

Posted On November 22, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Regulatory, Top Stories / 1

November 8, 2016

Artoss, Inc. is pleased to announce that, on October 26, 2016, Artoss GmbH received notice from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration that NanoBone^® SBX Putty has been cleared to market as 510(k) K161351.

Walter Gerike, Managing Director of Artoss GmbH said, “Nanotechnology is the key technology for the 21^st century and Artoss is harnessing this potential for orthopaedic surgery. In NanoBone SBX Putty, we have a product that combines Applied NanoBiology™ for bone repair with perfect handling for the surgeon.” NanoBone synthetic bone graft products have been used in Europe for ten years in approaching 400,000 clinical cases across all indications.

James J. Cassidy, Ph.D., Managing Director of Artoss, Inc., the exclusive North American distributors for NanoBone in orthopaedic surgery, stated, “NanoBone technology has been in great demand by U.S. surgeons since we launched NanoBone Granules in 2015. NanoBone SBX Putty offers the same clinical performance in an easier to use presentation. We look forward to introducing this product in a variety of sizes to the U.S. market in the coming weeks.”

Contact:

Artoss, Inc.

15900 155^th St. NE

Foley, MN 56329

320-355-4321

info@artossinc.com

Honor our Veterans Today, and Every Day

Posted On November 11, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Top Stories /

Express-News Editorial Board – November 11, 2016

Veterans Day is set aside to honor our military veterans, who have served our nation — often at great cost and sacrifice. We celebrate them today and every day of the year. For our soldiers do not just keep us safe. They elevate us.

Tragedy is patient. It can wait and wait, sometimes for days, sometimes for weeks, sometimes for …

Everyone knows that; everyone knows that setbacks, huge and small, are part of life.

But the darkness, the pall of gloom and suffering, hangs over some of us more oppressively, more constantly, than it does others.

Our brave fighting men and women know the feeling.

They live with it every day, and they face the struggle abroad so that we, all of us, do not have to face it at home.

We should honor that sacrifice and commitment every day, but especially today — Veterans Day.

In 1926, Congress adopted a resolution celebrating world peace in the aftermath of World War I, a decree later expanded to honor all veterans.

Although most of us work on this day, it has taken on the fervor of a national holiday, and with good reason — we owe our livelihoods, if not our very existence, to the brave men and women who have fought to preserve our way of life.

“Our veterans left everything they knew and loved and served with exemplary dedication and courage so we could all know a safer America and a more just world,” President Barack Obama said in his Veterans Day proclamation last year. “They have been tested in ways the rest of us may never fully understand, and it is our duty to fulfill our sacred obligation to our veterans and their families.”

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Dynamic Scoliosis Brace wins AdvaMed Innovation Competition

Posted On October 27, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Spine, Top Stories /

Pictured: CEO, Jamie Haggard

by Joshua Lindenstein on October 24, 2016

FORT COLLINS — Medical-device startup Green Sun Medical walked away from the MedTech Innovator competition’s top prize of $200,000 last week. But it was another award that came with a smaller $25,000 check that the company’s founders believe might end up having a bigger impact on the company.

In addition to the competition’s top prize, Johnson & Johnson officials awarded Fort Collins-based Green Sun a $25,000 scholarship to join the former’s JLabs incubator, which has multiple locations around the country. Green Sun Medical CEO Jamie Haggard said Monday that the incubator membership, which could last up to two years, should allow his company to tap into invaluable industry expertise as it works toward going to market in the second half of next year with a tech-enabled spinal brace for adolescent scoliosis patients.

“Winning the MedTech Innovator was great for validation and showing we’re on the right track,” Haggard said. “And $200,000 is nothing to scoff at. … The JLabs is almost more important.”

The MedTech Innovator competition finals were held during last week’s AdvaMed 2016, the major industry conference for the medical-device industry held in Minneapolis. Green Sun had been one of 430 initial applicants, a group that was whittled down to 20 semifinalists and eventually four finalists.

Founded in 2014, Green Sun Medical is based at the Innosphere incubator in Fort Collins. Green Sun’s brace goes beyond traditional scoliosis braces that are made of rigid plastic and are aimed primarily at preventing further curvature of the spine.

Haggard likens Green Sun’s brace to the Invisalign line of orthodontics, which use a series of several plastic trays to straighten someone’s teeth. The Green Sun brace applies pressure like orthodontics to correct the patient’s curved spine. The brace is equipped with pressure sensors and is blue-tooth enabled to allow physicians to monitor progress in real time. If the pressure drops, the physician can call in a patient and crank up the brace to continue to provide further correction.

To prevent muscle atrophy that comes with wearing a brace for years at a time, the Green Sun brace also allows enough movement so that users can still do physical therapy and keep muscles functioning and the spine erect once the brace is no longer worn.

One of the major aims of Green Sun is to keep teenagers from having to resort to spinal-fusion surgeries.

Haggard cofounded Green Sun Medical with chief technology officer Matt Thompson, a biomedical engineer who came up with the idea for the new brace, and chief strategic officer Paul Thompson. The latter Thompson, who is not related to the first, practices intellectual property law in Fort Collins. Haggard, meanwhile, has been in sales and management of implants for orthopedic and spine companies for 20 years.

Green Sun has four full-time employees now, plus a handful of consultants. But Haggard said he expects the full-time employee count to grow to 10 to 15 within the next 12 months. The company is already expanding into more office space at Innosphere, which Green Sun joined last year.

Haggard said the recent $200,000 cash prize will help Green Sun cover the cost of filing its patents in multiple countries in Europe and Asia, as well as to help further prototype development.

The cash prize follows a $335,000 round of equity seed funding raised by Green Sun in the spring, and the company is a little more than halfway through raising a $2 million Series A round.

Haggard said he expects Green Sun’s growth to take place in Northern Colorado for the foreseeable future, noting Colorado’s growing medical-device industry cluster.

“We’re seeing a lot going on in medical devices,” Haggard said. “It’s a great place to live, and there’s a great market of talent already.”

www.greensunmedical.com

Dynamic Scoliosis Brace wins AdvaMed Innovation Competition

Posted On October 26, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Spine, Top Stories /

MINNEAPOLIS, MN. (October 19, 2016) –AdvaMed 2016: The MedTech Conference, the leading event for medical technology professionals in North America and MedTech Innovator today named Green Sun Medical the first place winner of the global competition and awarded the company a $200,000 cash prize.

Held in partnership with AdvaMed Accel, MedTech Innovator is the medtech industry’s global competition and virtual accelerator that identifies and accelerates the development of transformative innovations. Green Sun Medical’s tech-‐enabled spinal brace for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis patients applies reduction forces dynamically, both allowing the patient to move and generate the constant corrective forces necessary to reverse deformity.

“Green Sun Medical’s tech-‐enabled spinal brace is an amazing innovation that addresses an unmet need in today’s healthcare space, and I am thrilled that our judges and the live audience vote selected the company to win our $200,000 grand prize,” said Paul Grand, CEO, MedTech Innovator. “MedTech Innovator 2016 has been an amazing opportunity to showcase the wide range of early-‐stage medical technology companies across the globe, from our more than 500 applicants to our 20 semi-finalists and four finalists and our big winner, Green Sun Medical.”

Held during the Wednesday morning plenary session at AdvaMed 2016, the final round of the MedTech Innovator competition featured four finalists presenting their innovations before a panel of judges including Daniel Estes, vice chair, Mayo Clinic Ventures; Jennifer Kozak, vice president, new business development, Johnson & Johnson; Albert Lauritano, director, strategic technology partnerships, BD; and Tamara St.Claire, chief innovation officer, Xerox Healthcare. The winners were then determined by a real-‐time live audience vote, with cash prizes of $200,000 for first place winner Green Sun Medical and $50,000 for second place winner Adient Medical.

“My experience working in the spinal business tells me that Green Sun Medical’s technology will have a tremendous impact on the young patients who have limited options to treat scoliosis,” said Ashley Wittorf, executive director, AdvaMed Accel. “I congratulate Green Sun Medical’s recognition as MedTech Innovator 2016, and look forward to seeing their product reach the market.”

Several other emerging growth companies were awarded cash prizes during the session, including $25,000 Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS Awards for Green Sun Medical and Intuitap.

“This year’s MedTech Innovator winner, Green Sun Medical, is addressing an important unmet need that will improve patient care and well-‐being,” said Albert Lauritano, director, strategic technology partnerships, BD. “It’s been great to witness their progress over the course of the program and I strongly support their selection!”

MedTech Innovator is supported by Johnson & Johnson, the Cottrell Foundation, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), Enterprise Ireland, IDA and RCT Ventures.

“As a founding sponsor of MedTech Innovator, we congratulate Green Sun Medical,” said Susan Morano, vice president, business development, Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies. “This company has demonstrated the passion for developing unique and meaningful innovation to address critical needs for patients around the world.”

For more information on MedTech Innovator 2016 and AdvaMed 2016, visit www.medtechinnovator.org or www.advamed2016.com

About AdvaMed 2016: The MedTech Conference

AdvaMed 2016: The MedTech Conference is the leading gathering in North America of global MedTech executives with regulatory, reimbursement, business development, legal, IP, marketing, quality, compliance, HR and other key responsibilities. Along with industry leaders, the international conference attracts business development professionals, investors, policy-makers, members of the media, legal experts, consultants, distributors and other important stakeholders.

More than 2,500 attendees will network, conduct business, gain access to capital and share insights in Minneapolis from Oct. 17-19. The conference also features world-class plenary speakers, networking and business development opportunities.

PROFILE – Musculoskeletal New Ventures Conference (MNVC)

Posted On September 26, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Recon, Spine, Top Stories /

A Conversation with Gary Stevenson, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at MB Venture Partners, LLC

Let’s start by having you give a brief background on who you are, what MB Ventures is and why you started MNVC.

My name is Gary Stevenson and I am co-founder and managing partner of MB Venture Partners in Memphis. We started in 2001 and raised our first fund in 2002. In our first 15 years, we have focused a disproportionate amount of our investment capital on the musculoskeletal niche where we have domain expertise and relationships that have resulted in high-quality investment opportunities. Over the years, our start-ups have been acquired by Wright Medical, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, and Zimmer Biomet.

One of our venture partners, with the help of the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, started in the MNVC in 2003, so this will be our 14th annual event. The goal then was to feature the relative strengths of Memphis in the musculoskeletal industry. MB Venture Partners has been Conference Host and the largest sponsor every year since then. Our goal is to bring together the 20-25 most exciting new start-ups so they can engage with investors (both venture capitalists and angels) and strategic partners (Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, Wright Medical, and may others).

MNVC being October 18-19^th, it falls right in the middle of the busy season for orthopedic industry meetings, yet many of us industry “junkies” consider MNVC to be a “Can’t Miss” meeting. Why do you think that is?

I appreciate the compliment – I do think MNVC is the “can’t miss” event of the year for musculoskeletal start-ups and the people who love them. We don’t aim to be the largest event of the year, but we do want to be the best. As one example, we give presenters plenty of time at the podium to tell their story – 30-minute time slots. This is less superficial than other events and allows the depth that industry insiders are looking for. I think insiders want more than a 6-minute or 10-minute presentation can give them and that’s one reason why we all come to the MNVC. That and the barbecue.

What kind of companies typically present at MNVC?

We strive for balance when we curate the presenter list. It’s by invitation only and we’re looking for a mix of spine and orthopedics. We’re also looking for a mix of early and later-stage opportunities. We have been told many times that the MNVC is the one place where start-ups like to “break stealth”, that moment in time when management thinks they’re ready to tell the industry more about what they’re up to. We’re flattered to hear that, obviously.

Tell our readers about the beneficiary of the meeting proceeds and your passion about giving back to your community.

As returning attendees already know, MB Venture Partners doesn’t host the MNVC with an eye towards making a profit. If we were, we would be selling presentation slots (they’re free) and we’d be dividing the hour into 6 10-minute slots or even worse, 10 6-minute slots. Also, we don’t hire an outside firm to manage the conference for us. Truth is, MB Venture Partners donates all of its time putting the event on every year and pays for the privilege – we’ve written the largest sponsorship check every year. We do all that because we’re trying to keep costs low. A portion of each year’s proceeds is donated each year to the Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering (“MASE”), Tennessee’s first charter school. MASE helps inner-city students achieve their dream of a job in the technology and medical device fields. MASE was founded by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation and it warms our heart to know that more than $120,000 has been donated from the MNVC to benefit the teachers and students of MASE.

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ CEO Karen Hackett announces her retirement

Posted On September 21, 2016 By OrthoSpineNews In Top Stories /

ROSEMONT, Ill. (Sept. 21, 2016)—Karen L. Hackett, FACHE, CAE, announced that she will retire from her position as chief executive officer of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), after 14 years at the organization’s helm, effective April 14, 2017.

Throughout her tenure, Ms. Hackett has overseen a number of major developments at the Academy, including the opening of the Orthopaedic Headquarters in Rosemont, Ill. in 2015. She has worked directly with the AAOS Board of Directors and executive management team to oversee a staff of 250 employees and manage an annual budget of $60 million.

“Karen’s leadership has been instrumental to the Academy’s success and growth,” said AAOS President Gerald R. Williams, Jr., MD. “Thanks to her bold vision, valuable insight and exceptional dedication, the Academy has created educational programming and new initiatives that continue to support and champion our members, all while navigating unprecedented change in the health care arena.”

“I have been so proud to be the CEO of an organization representing such a devoted, dedicated and driven group of physicians,” said Hackett. “I thank the AAOS Board of Directors, volunteers, members and staff for the opportunity to serve this dynamic organization.”

Under Hackett’s leadership, the Academy created new quality and performance standards, including guidelines and appropriate use criteria for 18 orthopaedic conditions; hosted an inaugural National Surgical Patient Safety Summit (NSPSS), bringing together 150 representatives from medical professional associations, insurers, health care systems, payers and government agencies to develop surgical care, research and education standards; oversaw numerous legislative and national policy advancements on behalf of orthopaedic surgeons and patients; and fostered ongoing unity among the various orthopaedic specialties and industry stakeholders. In addition, the organization produced yearly, award-winning public service campaigns on injury prevention and safety topics, including distracted driving and walking; a traveling “Wounded in Action” art exhibit; and a website and activities related to the organization’s 75^th anniversary.

Prior to joining the Academy as CEO in 2003, Hackett was the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). Previously, she served as vice president for the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, senior manager for Ernst and Young and director of technical services for the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Hackett is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), and a past chairman of the organization’s Board of Directors (2010-2011). She also is board certified in health care management and an ACHE fellow. Hackett earned a master’s degree in business administration from Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Central Florida.

Hackett has been honored for her tremendous career accomplishments. In 2009, she received the Samuel B. Shapiro Award, presented by the Association Forum of Chicagoland to a chief executive officer for outstanding service and accomplishment in association management. In 2011, she was selected for induction into the University of Central Florida’s College of Business Hall of Fame; that same year, Lewis University honored Hackett with the Alumni Achievement Award in the field of Business.

The AAOS Board of Directors has retained executive search firm Korn Ferry to lead the search for a new CEO.

About the AAOS
With more than 39,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The AAOS provides educational programs for orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals, champions and advances the highest quality musculoskeletal care for patients, and is the authoritative source of information on bone and joint conditions, treatments and related issues.

Visit AAOS at:
Newsroom.aaos.org for bone and joint health news, stats, facts, images and interview requests.
ANationinMotion.org for inspirational patient stories, and orthopaedic surgeon tips on maintaining bone and joint health, avoiding injuries, treating musculoskeletal conditions and navigating recovery.
Orthoinfo.org for patient information on hundreds of orthopaedic diseases and conditions.

Facebook.com/AAOS1
Twitter.com/AAOS1