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SmartTRAK Life Sciences News and Analysis Blog

Shelly Caruso

8+ years in clinical healthcare, 4+ years neurosurgical and orthopedic intraoperative nursing, including cranial, spine, sports med, total joint and extremity. BA in economics and BSN in nursing. Medical writer, certified editor and member of The American Copy Editors Society

Recent Posts

2 min read

A Tidal Wave of Competitors: Q322 CAS Spine Market Recap

By Shelly Caruso on 12/19/22 6:41 PM

Q322 sees a tidal wave of new robotic spine surgery competitors as well as data-driven initiatives under development by a host of companies in the market for spine enabling tech.

Q322 was nothing short of a tidal wave of competitive entrants to the US Spine Robotic Surgery space. Medtronic* (MDT) and  Globus* remain top players as OUS companies like France’s  eCential Robotics* and Taiwan’s  Point Robotics MedTech* set their sights on the US market. The Q322 WW CAS Spine Market was up, according to  SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard. MDT remained the market leader with 49.0% share, followed by Globus and other enabling tech competitors like Brainlab* and Stryker* (SYK).

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q322 CAS Spine Market Recap* are:

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3 min read

Bolt Navigation: Simplifying Spinal Navigation-An Interview with CEO Patrick West

By Shelly Caruso on 12/12/22 10:00 AM

SmartTRAK interviews Bolt Navigation CEO Patrick West to learn more about the Company and its potentially disruptive solution for streamlined spinal navigation.

One of the most exciting enabling technologies on display at the recent North American Spine Society (NASS) 2022 annual meeting in Chicago was the Bolt Navigation System, a novel, FDA-pending technology developed by Bolt Navigation to simplify spinal navigation. Designed by a practicing neurosurgeon, Bolt utilizes a software application to leverage the positional guidance inherent in an iPhone for intraoperative spine screw planning and placement guidance. The system works without a reference frame and can be used with a patient's diagnostic MRI or CT and a single C-arm shot once the patient is positioned. It is implant agnostic and can be attached to almost any instrument.

To find out more about Bolt Navigation and this potentially disruptive solution for streamlined spinal navigation, listen to SmartTRAK’s interview with CEO Patrick West in the following video (30:47 min). A link to a transcript of the complete interview is also provided below.

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2 min read

Pain Intervention: A Market of Moving Targets

By Shelly Caruso on 9/20/22 9:30 AM

SmartTRAK highlights key movements in the quickly changing landscape of interventional pain management and identifies practice trends surrounding SCS, PNS, minimally invasive spine and SI Joint Fusion from the recent ASPN and INS meetings.

Strong demand for alternatives to narcotic pain management combined with an aging population and growing incidence of chronic pain continue to drive demand for interventional pain techniques. The approach to the treatment of chronic intractable pain is evolving, with a shift toward data-focused treatment optimization, growing use of digital monitoring and holistic evaluation of patient outcomes. Furthermore, increasing overlap among various devices and therapies as well as unclear boundaries between interventional pain, orthopedic and spine practices is spurring physicians to adopt collaborative approaches to patient care.

Among the many timely topics covered in this comprehensive Market Outlook article "Pain Intervention: A Market of Moving Targets", which can be downloaded in its entirety here, are:

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3 min read

A Mixed Bag of Ups & Downs: Q122 CAS Ortho Recap

By Shelly Caruso on 8/19/22 9:30 AM

Q122 proved to be a mixed-bag of ups and downs with supply chain issues and Covid surges having varying impacts on market leaders’ performance amidst a strong wave of enabling tech product launches.

The Q122 WW CAS Ortho Market was down according to SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard. Stryker* remained the market leader, followed by Zimmer Biomet* and Smith & Nephew*. For detailed Q122 revenues and shares by company in the US, EU and ROW, see the SmartTRAK CAS Ortho Financial Dashboard.

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q122 CAS Ortho Market Recap* are:

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2 min read

New Spine Enabling Technologies: Q122 CAS Spine Market Recap

By Shelly Caruso on 8/5/22 12:15 PM

Although revenues still show signs of COVID-19 impact, robotic procedures and implant pull-through accelerate, and companies continue roll out new spine enabling technology and strategize how to maximize the remainder of 2022.

The Q122 WW CAS Spine Market was up year-over-year according to SmartTRAK Financial DashboardMedtronic* (MDT) remained the market leader with 59.5% share, followed by Globus* (GMED) and other enabling tech competitors, including Stryker* (SYK) and Brainlab*

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q122 CAS Spine Market Recap* are:

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2 min read

Trends in Neurovascular Innovation 2022

By Shelly Caruso on 7/21/22 9:30 AM

Improved aspiration systems, large-bore catheters, balloon-guide catheters and radial access top the list of neurovascular device trends that will continue in 2022.

In the market for mechanical thrombectomy devices, the pace of innovation shows no signs of slowing down in 2022. Manufacturers are designing neurointerventional devices with an eye toward improving first-pass effect, recanalization rates and reducing procedure times to ultimately improve patient outcomes In this article, SmartTRAK highlights recent trends in neurovascular technologies, including variable pressure aspiration systems, large-bore catheters (LBCs), balloon-guide catheters (BGCs) and radial access, as key areas of innovation moving into 2022.

Along with the recent trends in neurovascular technologies, the following topics are covered in detail in this article, which is available for download here:

  • Outgrowing Standard Aspiration Systems
  • Continued Trend Toward Large-Bore Catheters for Access and Aspiration
  • New Designs and Applications for Balloon-Guide Catheters
  • Increasing Competition in Radial Access
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2 min read

Overcoming Pandemic Hurdles: Q321 CAS Spine Market Recap

By Shelly Caruso on 1/3/22 11:16 AM

Covid-related challenges continued to dampen market recovery in Q321. Despite pandemic hurdles, technology that improves surgical precision and real-time workflows is driving adoption and innovation in computer-assisted spine surgery and accelerating the development of products and systems.

Many companies with established enabling technologies are pushing to expand indications for existing systems and bolster them with robust preoperative planning, enhanced navigation and post-op evaluation solutions for start-finish integration within a single line of products. Meanwhile, other players are focusing on open-platform solutions to address care gaps for specific procedures and populations. At the forefront of industry research and development are artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies to aid in imaging, planning and navigation assistance (robotic-assisted and freehand). 

Among the many topics covered in detail in our comprehensive Q321 CAS Spine Market Recap* are:

Topics: Spine CAS Spine
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