October 2017 | Volume 2





Since September 1, we've covered 45 spine-centric announcements from funding to patents to reimbursements, etc. Here we recap just the product updates to preview what you can expect to see and hear on the NASS exhibit floor.

Vexim's portfolio complements Stryker's Interventional Spine division and provides access to a direct salesforce in France, Germany, Spain and Italy, and an international distribution network in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. 





We've noticed a jump in announcements pertaining to surgical assistance tools: platforms designed to improve ease of use, support a personalized implant fit for patients, etc. Here's what's been making the headlines.


Intracept Intraosseous Nerve Ablation uses radiofrequency energy to ablate basivertebral nerves within the vertebral body. Once ablated, the nerves stop transmitting pain signals. The study will enroll up to 150 patients at up to 20 U.S. centers.

    

Minimally invasive surgical products are a staple of today's spine company portfolios. We asked James F. Marino, M.D., a thought leader in MIS and founder of companies NuVasive and Trinity Orthopedics, about the technologies.

Study results demonstrated that surgeries performed with Mazor Robotics' Renaissance Guidance System, using Mazor Core™ technology, yielded a five-fold reduction in surgical complications and a seven-fold reduction in revisions vs. freehand-based, minimally invasive lumbar fusion.

 
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Select Strategic Announcements from NASS

 






In the last eNewsletter, Mr. Hicks explained why profit as a percentage of sales is a flawed performance measurement for a manufacturing organization and suggested a couple of alternative measurements. These alternatives are, however, only surrogates for another somewhat more complex methodology that enables a manufacturer to evaluate value with greater accuracy. 

Times have changed, and with each new year, startup, merger and acquisition, people have become jaded...and opportunistic at the same time. The days of the 40-year career at the same company with the pension and the gold watch have gone. Competition has created a Candidate Driven Market, which is recruiter-speak for a difficult reality for many managers.