Companies like startup TrackX Technology are taking navigation technology to the next level to provide real-time instrument tracking while minimizing radiation exposure during minimally invasive spine procedures.

Enabling technologies, including robotics and navigation systems in spine surgery, are here to stay and were on display at the Spine Summit 2020 meeting held in Las Vegas, Nevada from March 5-8. While navigation has been around for decades, companies like startup TrackX Technology are taking the technology to the next level to provide real-time instrument tracking while minimizing radiation exposure during minimally invasive spine procedures.

Improvements in procedure volumes drove strong growth across the spine hardware market.

Improvements in procedure volumes drove positive growth across the spine hardware market, with the WW spine hardware market up for Q419 and FY2019, respectively, according to the SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard. Similarly, Cantor Fitzgerald analysts estimate 2019 global spine market (inclusive of biologics) growth at +2.2%, the highest growth the market has seen in 5 years, with +2.1% US growth and +2.2% growth OUS.

Among the many topics covered in the comprehensive  Q419 Spine Market Recap*  are:

Shifting spine procedures to an ASC setting and participating in a free market healthcare environment.

Richard A. Kube II, MD discusses the advantages and challenges of moving spine procedures to an Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) setting in an interview with SmartTRAK. Spine surgeon Dr. Kube founded the  Prairie Surgicare Spine Surgical Facility in Peoria, Illinois as well as the Illinois chapter of  Free Market Medical Association. He shares with us why many are choosing an ASC setting as well as the importance of transparency in healthcare. To find out more, click on the following video. A transcript of the interview is also provided below.

The WW Spine Hardware market saw a return to growth in Q319 with +3.6% growth, the highest growth rate this market has seen in at least 2 years. An uptick in procedure volumes across the board drove robust US market growth of +5.7%. WFS analysts estimate the Q319 Spine market (excluding Infuse) accelerated 90bps sequentially on a stacked two-year basis with Medtronic, Globus and NuVasive taking share from DePuy Synthes, Stryker and Zimmer Biomet.

SmartTRAK identifies trends to watch in Spine

By most accounts, the Spine market has stabilized with modest low single-digit growth expected this year. Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak agrees that the Spine market seems to have stabilized and is starting to inch back up. However, he suggests that it is still slower than a year or two ago as price declines are now offsetting procedure growth, resulting in flat to low single-digit to growth. For 2019, Needham analysts are modeling 2% spine market growth with overall orthopedic market growth of 3.4%.

Med device giants are scooping up innovative technologies

The Spine market is bustling with activity so far this spring, with two notable acquisitions hot off the press.

Medtronic announced its acquisition of Titan Spine,  strengthening Medtronic's interbody position with Titan Spine's portfolio, which consists of a full line of titanium, surface-enhanced interbody fusion devices featuring Titan’s nanoLock surface technology. The acquisition is expected to close during Medtronic's first fiscal quarter ending July 26, 2019, although terms of the deal were not disclosed. Titan Spine currently markets its line of Endoskeleton interbody devices in the US, Europe and Australia. This acquisition further validates the shift in the interbody market from PEEK to porous titanium. Medtronic already offers interbodies manufactured from Ti-coated PEEK (Pure Titanium Coating or PTC) and just last year launched a titanium 3D printed platform – TiONIC Technology - that enables more complex designs and integrated surface technologies for spine surgery implants.

Q418 US Spine market remains fairly flat, rounding out a stable but unremarkable FY18.

SmartTRAK’s Financial Dashboard indicates a fairly flat Q418 US Spine market, with a decline of -0.4%. Similarly, for the full year, the US Spine Market was stable, with +0.9% growth. WW revenues increased modestly with a +1% uptick for FY2018. Spine market growth as a whole slowed sequentially to +1% in Q418 from +2% in Q3 according to estimates. Growth continues to be restricted in the US Spine market by a few key factors. Payer pushback is the norm, and while most surgical practices have learned to deal with it, the environment is ever-changing with new obstacles and hurdles.

Among the many topics covered in SmartTRAK's Q418/FY18 Spine Market Recap are:

The Spine hardware market appears to be stabilizing.

SmartTRAK reports that results from a recent Leerink MEDACorp survey suggest that the US Spine market may be turning the corner, with hospital administrators reporting slightly improved case volume growth of 0.9% for Q318 vs 0.7% for Q2. This is consistent with Leerink’s intra-quarter checks and conversations at the North American Spine Society (NASS) 2018 Annual Meeting that the market...

Among the many topics covered in the Q318 Spine Market Recap are:

SmartTRAK analysts provide insight into the markets for spine hardware, computer assisted spine surgery and spinal cord stimulation in a BioMedGPS-hosted panel discussion entitled “The State of the Spine Market: Implants, Robotics, and Spinal Cord Stimulation” held prior to the recent North American Spine Society (NASS) 33rd Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.  

Moderated by Don Urbanowicz, Principal Urbanowicz Consulting, the panel included SmartTRAK’s Julianne Burns, Senior Analyst Spine, and Anne Staylor, RN, MS, Managing Editor and Senior Neuro Analyst, who discussed current and emerging market trends, projected growth, market drivers and limiters, and what’s on the horizon for these markets.

Click on the video below to watch the panel discussion recorded live at BioMedGPS’s pre-NASS reception held Sept. 25, 2018, or click on the button to download the transcript.

Stability in the US and in International Growth

While the Spine market remains sluggish in the US, international sales are picking up the slack. The Q2 WW Spine Hardware market improved nearly 2% during the quarter despite...

Among the many topics covered in the Q218 Spine Market Recap are: