Here are eight things for spinal surgeons to know for Dec. 17, 2015.
FDA gives thumbs-up to 2 new Infuse spine surgery indications
The FDA approved additional spine surgery indications for Medtronic's Infuse Bone Graft. With this expanded approval, Medtronic will be able to market Infuse Bone Graft for use with certain spine implants made of polyetheretherketone in oblique lateral interbody fusion and anterior lumbar interbody fusion procedures.
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota to open 2 ORs for orthopedics, spine
Doctors Hospital of Sarasota is opening two new operating rooms that will include spine surgeries. The $5 million expansion project is expected to take eight months to complete. The expansion is expected to finish in April 2016.
High rate of hospital employment of physician linked to lower hospital profits
The Moody's Investor Service's Physician Employment FY 2014 Medians report links the high physician employment rate to lower hospital profitability. However, Moody's predicted hospitals will continue employing a high volume of surgeons going forward. The average median cash flow margin is 10.7 percent for hospitals with low physician employment compared with 8.5 percent for hospitals with very high physician employment rate.
Lumbar disc replacement implant comparison: activL vs. ProDisc-L, Charite
The activL implant is an investigational device while the ProDisc-L and Charite disc replacement are FDA-approved. A recent study shows the activL implant was not inferior to the other two FDA-approved implants, according to a primary composite endpoint, and had higher radiographic success than the other two implants. The average back pain severity improved 74 percent with activL and 68 percent with the control discs.
CareFusion receives FDA clearance for 2 spine devices
CareFusion, a San Diego-based medical technology corporation, received FDA 510(k) clearance for two of its spine augmentation devices. CareFusion plans to commercially launch the 13-guage AVAmax Vertebral Balloon system and 11-guage AVAflex Vertebral Balloon system within a year.
Stanford Healthcare unveils new neuroscience center, integrating care
Stanford (Calif.) Healthcare held a ribbon-butting ceremony for its new Stanford Neuroscience Health Center in Palo Alto, Calif. Neurosurgeons, neurologists and interventional neuroradiologists from 21 neuroscience subspecialties will offer care at the new center.
K2M adds EVEREST MI XT Spinal System to portfolio
K2M, a medical spine device company, received FDA clearance to market its EVEREST Minimally Invasive XT Spinal System. The company's new system also received a CE Mark. The EVEREST MI XT Spinal System is a cannulated top-loading pedicle screw system.
Zimmer Biomet stock among the most expensive right now
Zimmer Biomet is one of the three most expensive stocks in the market right now. The company has the high P/E ratio on Wall Street at 98.50. The P/E ratio is equal to a stock's market capitalization divided by its after-tax earnings over a 12-month period. The stock trades at an average volume of 1.18 million shares.