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SmartTRAK Life Sciences News and Analysis Blog

3 min read

SentryX: Implantable Anesthetic for Spine Surgery

By Kris Jacques on 4/22/25 9:30 AM

SmartTRAK spotlights SentryX, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a non-opioid platform for the treatment of acute pain after surgery,​ in an interview at AAOS 2025 in San Diego. 

SentryX Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Jorrit-Jan (JJ) Verlaan, MD, discusses the company’s novel implantable anesthetic for spine surgery applications in an interview with SmartTRAK at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2025 Annual meeting in San Diego. The hydrogel works with all types of small-molecule drugs with a release profile that can be tailored to specific clinical needs and surgical procedures.

To find out more about SentryX and its novel technology, listen to the following video. (13:37 min.) A link to download a transcript of the interview is also provided below.


Hi, I’m Kristine Jacques, a Senior Analyst with SmartTRAK Spine. We are here at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons 2025. I’m sitting down with Dr. JJ Verlaan, a spine surgeon, co-founder, and Chief Medical Officer for SentryX, a Netherlands-based company developing a groundbreaking non-opioid solution for postoperative pain. First of all, Dr. Verlaan, I want to congratulate you on being one of the top four finalists inthe OrthoPitch Event at the Academy this year. It’s quite an honor.

Dr. Jorrit-Jan Verlaan: Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for sitting down with the SmartTRAK team. I’d like to start out with you telling us about your background and how the idea came about for the Hydrogel and starting SentryX.

JJV: Thank you so much. I'm a surgeon from Utrecht in the Netherlands. I've been practicing spine surgery from the moment I got board-certified. Rapidly, during work in my practice, I noticed that patients after spine surgery are all in a lot of pain. The moment that you realize that, and you actually ask the patients how much pain they have, on a scale of 0-10 they sometimes respond with a 12. I had a chat with an anesthesiologist one day in between surgeries. We were discussing what is out there right now to treat pain. The anesthesiologist, she told me, "Well, not much, really. We're still relying on opioids. Maybe we could do something with local anesthetics, but it's not working long enough at this point." That kind of sparked the idea of doing something locally to treat the pain, but differently. Soon after, I hit upon the idea that we're developing right now in the company.

How far along are you in the development?

JJV: We started in 2017, together with my partner Bas Oosterman who is the CEO of the company. First it was just a raw idea. We soon found out that this idea, it had never been done before. That gave us the opportunity to actually file IP on our solution and go for it. At the end of 2017  we officially founded the company. We got our first employees and collaborated with a renowned institute on biofabrication. We developed a new ...

Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of SmartTRAK's interview with SentryX Co-Founder and CMO Jorrit-Jan (JJ) Verlaan, MD, conducted by Kris Jacques, SmartTRAK Sr Analyst.Download the Transcript

Topics: Spine
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2 min read

Impact of LCD Postponement on the US Skin Substitutes Market

By Kris Flinn on 4/21/25 3:55 PM

Wound GM Kris Flinn and Senior Analysts Elizabeth Anderson and Jay Merkel discuss the impact of delay and how industry players may choose to react.

On April 11, 2025, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that the Treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers and Venous Leg Ulcers Final Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs) effective date will be delayed until January 1, 2026. In this video (16:43 minutes), SmartTRAK Wound GM Kris Flinn and Senior Analysts Elizabeth Anderson and Jay Merkel discuss the impact of delay, and how industry players may choose to react.

 

The SmartTRAK Wound Team will be in attendance at the upcoming SAWC Spring conference in Grapevine, TX (April 30 to May 4). Please register here to meet the team.Meet The Team

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3 min read

Innovation On Display at the 2nd Annual AAOS OrthoPitch

By Elise Wolf on 4/15/25 9:30 AM

SmartTRAK highlights AAOS’ OrthoPitch 2025 finalists.

Innovation has always been a key growth driver in orthopedics and startups have been responsible for some of the most novel and innovative orthopedic products ever to reach the market. At the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego, orthopedic startups were in the spotlight in the second annual OrthoPitch event, a Shark Tank-like competition sponsored, in part, by SmartTRAK.

Forty companies applied, but only four reached the finals and made their pitches at the event. In this article, SmartTRAK highlights the companies and technologies that made it to the OrthoPitch finals and announces the winner of the competition.

The finalists were:

  • VISIE
    • VISIE, formerly known as Advanced Scanners, is a medtech startup located in Austin, TX. The company has developed proprietary hardware and software that ... (read more)
  • 16 Bit
    • 16 Bit is a radiologist-founded medical technology company, located in Toronto, Ontario, focused on creating ... (read more)
  • Auctus Surgical
    • California-based Auctus Surgical has developed a flexible tether implant designed for ... (read more)
  • SentryX
    • SentryX, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded as a spin-out of the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, has developed ... (read more)

SmartTRAK is proud to sponsor events such as OrthoPitch that foster an environment of innovation in orthopedics. We congratulate Visie, 16 Bit, Auctus Surgical and SentryX on making it to the final round.

AND THE WINNER IS ...

Click the button below to read more about each company's innovation and to find out who won the second annual OrthoPitch at AAOS 2025.Get the Article


SmartTRAK is the Medtech industry’s only global Insights-as-a-Service solution for the Orthopedics, Wound Care, Regenerative Medicine and Neuro Therapy markets.  SmartTRAK’s propriety methodology turns disparate data from hundreds of sources into powerful insights customers can rely on as the trusted source for strategic decision-making. The  SmartTRAK enterprise platform includes rich daily updates, comprehensive market coverage and simple-to-use tools and dashboards for market, product and financial analysis. Customers leveraging the  SmartTRAK platform also have direct access to market experts for inquiries and advisory services. If you would like a demo of what  SmartTRAK has to offer and see how we can help increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, just click  here

 

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3 min read

Joint Restoration and Preservation: The CG MSK & AAOS 2025 Playbill

By Kim French on 4/9/25 11:19 AM

Soft tissue and cartilage repair trends and innovations take center stage.

Joint restoration and preservation continued to gain attention at this year’s Canaccord Genuity (CG) Musculoskeletal (MSK) Healthcare Conference and at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' (AAOS) 2025 Annual Meeting, both in San Diego. From start-ups reporting early results and seeking investors to large companies showcasing recently acquired assets or newly launched products, the meetings were abuzz with companies and healthcare providers aspiring to help patients heal more naturally, restore an active lifestyle and delay joint replacement surgery.

In this market perspective article, SmartTRAK covers everyone from powerhouse names like Smith+Nephew and Stryker to dynamic start-ups, like CytexOrtho, Nanochon and Hyalex Orthopaedics. Their focus was clear: help the body heal naturally and preserve movement for as long as possible.

Below is a preview of the full article. The complete Market Perspective is available for download.

       Download the Complete Joint Restoration and Preservation Article

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2 min read

The Impact of Data in Medtech: Alpha Sophia Interviews SmartTRAK's Joe Mish

By Thomas Wallick on 4/7/25 9:39 AM

Recently, SmartTRAK's VP of Sales, Joe Mish, sat down with the Alpha Sophia podcast to discuss the impacts of data on the Medtech market. Hosted by Alpha Sophia founder & CEO Paul-Lukas Hoffschmidt, the podcast dives deep into the cutting-edge of MedTech innovations and commercial trends.

In this video, Joe breaks down how SmartTRAK delivers critical market intelligence to MedTech companies, helping them track trends, product performance and market changes. He explores how the Alpha Sophia partnership enhances real-time intelligence, enabling businesses to quickly act on insights, stay ahead of industry shifts, adapt to changing market dynamics and maintain a competitive edge in an evolving market. Click the video below to watch the podcast.

 

SmartTRAK and Alpha Sophia together offers a data-driven, AI-powered solution for commercial teams in the healthcare sector. Click the button below to watch our webinar titled "Growth in 2025: More Than Targeting" outlining how SmartTRAK and Alpha Sophia can accelerate business opportunities by combining deep market insights with advanced targeting strategies, ultimately enabling sales teams to engage more effectively with the right customers at the right time. Watch the Webinar

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3 min read

Meet the Expert: David Shepard, Senior Analyst, Orthobiologics and Regenerative Medicine

By Thomas Wallick on 4/3/25 8:30 AM

We are pleased to announce that David Shepard has joined the SmartTRAK team as Senior Analyst, Orthobiologics and Regenerative Medicine. Prior to joining SmartTRAK, for the last 22 years, David has worked for Arthrex as the Senior Director of Orthobiologics and Vet Systems, where he led global business development and product strategy across two diverse portfolios, driving innovation in regenerative medicine and orthobiologics. Before that, he was Director of Donor Services at the University of Florida Tissue Bank, where he oversaw tissue recovery operations and processor distribution for all donors across the UFTB region, confirming compliance, efficiency and optimized recovery rates.

Meet David Shepard:

What is your role with SmartTRAK? I am a senior analyst with the OrthoBio Team.

What do you like about SmartTRAK? I have been using SmartTRAK for years to keep up with the latest developments in the fast-moving Orthobiologics space. This unique environment covers many areas of medical practice, so staying on top of the latest news, emerging tech, research, and IP is critical to the success of any company. Now that I am on the other side, it’s like being a kid in a candy store.

What is something special or unique that you bring to SmartTRAK subscribers? I have worked in various roles in the Orthobiologics space, leading upstream product development from early research to product launch, downstream marketing, sales management, and evaluation of emerging technologies. I have also had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from some of the preeminent thought leaders in the field. This has prepared me to help companies reach their goals using the power of data analytics and experience in this diverse field.

What do you think the biggest promise of medical technology (in your area) is? With incredible materials, instruments, and implants now available to physicians, the one area that remains out of their control is the biology of their patients and how that will impact their final repair and long-term outcome. It is well-accepted that Orthobiologics (Cells, Signals, and Scaffolds) have the best opportunity to improve patient outcomes. While it is hard to pick a single area as the most promising, I would say that cellular and cell secretory factors may hold the most potent potential to direct regenerative repair and even early diagnosis.

What are your favorite online websites or resources that you check every day? For years, I have started my day reviewing the SmartTRAK updates and augmenting these overviews by cruising PubMed to dig into more of the details. Even some of the best research can miss fine details that hold the truth.

How do you keep your medical device research skills sharp? I read, read, read…and I have never been shy about contacting authors to get more details about the research I am reviewing. I enjoy talking to companies about their new technologies and clinicians who are early adopters so I can better understand the problems they are trying to solve and how their technique or product solves those problems. As my father has always told me, surround yourself with people who are better than you, and that is easy to do when working at SmartTRAK.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? This is a fun question. I would have to say teleportation. I love to travel and hate traffic; this power would resolve that conflict.

What was the last show you binge-watched? Hmmm…tough one. I am more of a binge reader but almost anything in the sci-fi genre will fit the bill regarding series and watching. Separation has been and interesting one. Good characters that you care about are key.

What can we find you doing when you’re not working? You can often find me on the ice. I do my best to stay fit as I remain an avid hockey player, playing 3+ games weekly. All three of my boys also play, so it is a busy house. My wife and I also enjoy hiking in the mountains of NC.

If you'd like to learn more about SmartTRAK and how it can increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, or if you would like to meet with Elizabeth, just click the button below.Learn More

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3 min read

Enthesis Reformation and the Science of Bone-to-Tendon Healing

By Andy Knapik on 3/26/25 9:25 AM

SmartTRAK spotlights Tetrous in an interview at AAOS 2025 in San Diego. 

Andy Carter, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of Tetrous, discusses the company’s novel approach to addressing Enthesis Failure Syndrome in an interview with SmartTRAK at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego. 

To learn more about Tetrous and its novel technology, listen to the following video. (21:42 min.) A link to download the transcript of the interview is also provided below. 

 

Hey everybody, it's Andy Knapik, live here at AAOS 2025 in San Diego. Today I'm joined here with a friend, colleague, and someone I've known now for, I guess a couple years, Andy Carter, Founder, Chief Technology Officer of a company called Tetrous, which is really some exciting biologic technology. So I just brought him along. We're going to chat a little bit about it. So Andy, why don't you just tell everybody what it is about Tetrous and what you guys do and why it's so great.

Andy Carter: Thanks for the opportunity. It's a great topic to talk about and I really, really love it. So we started Tetrous a couple of years ago. We spun it out of Theracell, the company that we sold to, ISTO Biologics. They're doing great and taking the technology in the spine and doing various things. But along the way, I read quite a few papers about how demineralized bone matrix materials could influence enthesis repair. And that's getting back to sports medicine, which is my roots and well, my real passion. I looked at these papers and they basically showed that demineralized bone matrix materials could influence the enthesis to heal. A tendon, the enthesis, is the bit between the tendon and the bone. It's the junction. It's how you get load transfer between rigid bone and flexible tendon. It's a biological structure that's very exquisite and unique. You look at the histology and the biologists go into raptures and "wows" about it and whatever.

The fundamentals are that you've got collagen fibers going from the bone through into the tendon. That's what gives you the strength. You see them in the histology with Sharpey's fibers. If you just reattach tendon to bone, you just get scar tissue. Scar tissue is not as strong. Basically, it pulls out and thins and fails with time. So part of the reason that we see so many problems with rotator cuff repair is that nobody's doing anything to heal the enthesis. There was this literature out there saying, ‘Hey, you can use DBM for this,’ but none of the papers showed it in any way that was something that you could see a surgeon being able to use-

Right, a practical form.

AC: There's one group, guys I know very well had used DBM powder. Now DBM powder, you can do it in a rat study and show that it works, but that's not a product. So what we were able to do, one of the clever things about the technology that we developed at Theracell, the fiber technology is, it allows us to ....

Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of SmartTRAK's interview with Andy Carter, founder and CTO of Tetrous, conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Senior Analyst, Soft Tissue Fixation and Arthroscopic Enabling Technologies.Download the Transcript


SmartTRAK is the Medtech industry’s only global Insights-as-a-Service solution for the Orthopedics, Wound Care, Regenerative Medicine and Neuro Therapy markets. SmartTRAK’s propriety methodology turns disparate data from hundreds of sources into powerful insights customers can rely on as the trusted source for strategic decision-making. The SmartTRAK enterprise platform includes rich daily updates, comprehensive market coverage and simple-to-use tools and dashboards for market, product and financial analysis. Customers leveraging the SmartTRAK platform also have direct access to market experts for inquiries and advisory services. If you would like a demo of what SmartTRAK has to offer and see how we can help increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, just click here.

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3 min read

Meet The Expert: Elizabeth Anderson, Senior Analyst, Biologics

By Thomas Wallick on 3/26/25 8:00 AM

We are pleased to announce that Elizabeth Anderson has joined the team at SmartTRAK as Senior Analyst, Biologics. Before joining SmartTRAK, Elizabeth got her start at Healthpoint in Texas and has since worked in various roles with several of the top companies in the biological space, including Smith+Nephew and Organogenesis. 

Meet Elizabeth Anderson:

What is your role with SmartTRAK? My role with SmartTRAK will be as a Senior Analyst for the Biologics module.

What do you like about SmartTRAK? I have been using SmartTRAK since the platform started. My favorite feature is the ability to have information relevant to both the commercial and clinical sides of the market in one place. 

What is something special or unique you bring to SmartTRAK subscribers?
The majority of my roles have been responsible for market research and business intelligence. I have extensive experience combining primary and secondary data to get a full picture of the market.

What do you think the biggest promise of medical technology (in your area) is?  In the Biologics space, it isn't easy to choose just one. A lot of research is looking into the ability to impregnate matrices or grafts with growth factors or cell types that a patient may be missing based on their pathophysiology. 

How will it change everything? This would allow clinicians to tailor their tx specifically, giving the patient what is needed to heal. Of course, this hinges on the proper diagnostics, but I think it is where we are headed.

What are your favorite online websites or resources that you check every day? Of course, I stay up to date with SmartTrak and LinkedIn, my go-to sources, but I also monitor the CMS website in this space.

How do you keep your medical device research skills sharp? I keep my skills sharp by attending conferences, reading published clinical studies, and talking to clinicians on the front lines.

What was the last presentation you gave and to who, about what?  My last presentation was a forecast model for a new product launching clinical trials to enter the US market. It was for a US Business Development Director for an OUS manufacturer.

What was the last show you binge-watched? The last show I binge-watched was the limited series American Primeval on Netflix. It is a good story.

What is your life like outside of SmartTRAK?
Outside of SmartTRAK, I run a lot, tend to my senior dog, and try to teach myself new baking skills. I have backed off a lot of the long-distance running but still do a few endurance events.

If you'd like to learn more about SmartTRAK and how it can increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, or if you would like to meet with Elizabeth, just click the button below.Learn More

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2 min read

LCD Uncertainty Bringing Disruption to CAMPs

By Susan Paquette on 3/25/25 9:45 AM

CAMPs 2025 meeting highlights the use of CAMPs in all sites of care.

SmartTRAK reports the latest news and trends in cellular, acellular and matrix-like products (CAMPs) from the CAMPs 2025 Wound Care Summit held February 28 to March 2 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hosted by the Journal of Wound Care (JWC), CAMPs 2025 showcased new clinical research, consensus guidelines and presentations supporting the use of CAMPs amid uncertainties in reimbursement for these products in the US Market for Skin Substitutes.

The subjects discussed in this downloadable SmartTRAK Perspective article include:

  • The Broad Use of CAMPs
    • Sessions at CAMPs 2025 supported the broad use of CAMPs, including applications for diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and venous leg ulcers (VLUs) as well as those for limb salvage, acute care, tunneling wounds, Mohs surgery, trauma, burns and pressure ulcers (PrUs). SmartTRAK expects the use of CAMPs to ... (read more)
  • LCD Discussions Taking Center Stage
    • With the implementation of the MAC LCDs delayed until April 13th, a prevailing question among attendees at the conference was whether the LCDs would actually be implemented or further delayed. SmartTRAK spoke with clinicians and industry representatives to obtain their views on the LCDs and ... (read more)
  • Market Disruption – 2025 Earnings Projections
    • For public companies providing skin substitutes to the market, uncertainty was a major theme in their 2025 guidance SmartTRAK  summarizes comments from companies that mentioned the LCD in their 2025 revenue projections ... (read more)

Although a significant amount of discussion with clinicians and industry focused on revising the reimbursement methodology for skin substitutes, companies are still moving forward with clinical studies. SmartTRAK is currently tracking 26 clinical trials for DFUs and VLUs, as mentioned earlier and ...

To find out more about news and trends from CAMPs 2025, just click the button below to download the complete market perspective article "LCD Uncertainty Bringing Disruption to CAMPs" by Susan Paquette, VP & General Manager, Wound.


SmartTRAK is the Medtech industry’s only global Insights-as-a-Service solution for the Orthopedics, Wound Care, Regenerative Medicine and Neuro Therapy markets. SmartTRAK’s propriety methodology turns disparate data from hundreds of sources into powerful insights customers can rely on as the trusted source for strategic decision-making. The SmartTRAK enterprise platform includes rich daily updates, comprehensive market coverage and simple-to-use tools and dashboards for market, product and financial analysis. Customers leveraging the SmartTRAK platform also have direct access to market experts for inquiries and advisory services. If you would like a demo of what SmartTRAK has to offer and see how we can help increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, just click here.

Topics: Wound Care
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3 min read

Artificial Intelligence in Wound Diagnostics: Four Companies to Watch in 2025

By Kris Flinn on 3/25/25 9:30 AM

SmartTRAK highlights four wound diagnostics companies utilizing artificial intelligence to watch in 2025.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in our personal and professional lives. AI is already being applied in healthcare in areas such as image analysis, personalized treatments and predictive care. Future potential applications include improved analysis of healthcare data, optimizing medication doses and enhancing patient education. The challenges of AI are also widely discussed, with ethical and legal concerns combined with a general worry that patient care could become dehumanized and distanced from healthcare professionals.

In this downloadable article, SmartTRAK identifies and discusses the following four diagnostic companies facilitating AI that should be watched in 2025:

  • eKare
    • Wound assessment company eKare has been at the forefront of the conversation around AI in wound care. The core functionality of inSight, a 3D digital wound imaging system, includes AI aspects such as ... (read more)
  • Mimosa Diagnostics
    • Canadian tissue oximetry company Mimosa Diagnostics primarily implements AI to enhance the usability of its Mimosa Pro device, which uses ... (read more)
  • Spectral AI
    • Texas-based Spectral AI has undertaken significant fundraising over recent years. Over $150 million of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) funding since 2013 has facilitated ... (read more)
  • Swift Medical
    • Toronto-based Swift Medical saw a significant change in 2024. New leadership was announced in June as Dwayne Sansone and Stratos Davlos assumed the roles of CEO and CTO, respectively. The company received ... (read more)

The benefits of AI in wound care include accuracy and efficiency of wound characterization, remote monitoring, personalized care and increased accessibility to wound care ...

To find out more about how these companies are incorporating AI, just click the button below to download the complete market outlook article "Artificial Intelligence in Wound Diagnostics: Four Companies to Watch in 2025" by Kris Flinn, SmartTRAK General Manager, Wound.Get the Article

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