Medical Device and Wound Care News and Analysis Blog

3 min read

Automating Cartilage Repair and the Road to Commercialization: Octane Biotherapeutics

By David Shepard on 12/16/25 9:30 AM

The high costs and complexity involved in manual manufacturing hinder the commercial viability of regenerative cell therapies. Octane Biotherapeutics seeks to remove these barriers by integrating its automated "Cocoon" production system with the well-established Novocart 3D and Novocart Inject platforms. SmartTRAK interviews Dr. Robert Spiro, CEO of Octane Biotherapeutics, to explore the company's strategic acquisition of assets from Aesculap Biologics and TETEC AG, and their plan to make a significant entry into the US Cartilage Repair Market.

Click on the following video to learn more (09:37 min). A link to download a complete transcript of the interview is also provided below.

SmartTRAK: Hi, this is David Shepard with SmartTRAK, and I'm here with Dr. Robert Spiro, the CEO of Octane Biotherapeutics. Thank you for taking the time, really appreciate it.

Robert Spiro: Good to see you, Dave. Thank you.

Yes, good to see you as well. Tell me a little bit about Octane and the acquisition of Novocart 3D and Novocart Inject by Octane.

RS: Sure. It's a journey. It really started about 2010, '11, when I first started with Aesculap Biologics in this space. And having been in the cartilage regenerative space through several companies, really knowing that the scale-up of any type of manual culture, cell culture system was a big challenge from a commercial standpoint. We have always been looking for ways to automate this process. We started some on our own, but I encountered this technology with Octane, which was back in 2011—started that collaboration to transfer our manual autologous chondrocyte culture process to an automated system. They had already really started on this Cocoon technology, but we started to marry it to the Novocart program that long ago.

The relationship was there, all along, with the divestiture away from B. Braun Aesculap as they restructured all of their portfolio. It was really a natural progression for Octane to step in and acquire the company, not only Aesculap Biologics, but our sister company in Germany, TETEC AG, that developed the same technology. Octane Biotherapeutics is fully global, both German as well as US. And so, the Cocoon technology is an important step for us to commercialize both Novocart 3D and Novocart Inject for a number of reasons, and anyone in the cell culture space understands that scale up, scale out of those kind of manual process is expensive. It's one of the things that drives the cost of these products so high. So, it's been a great collaboration, and the fact that they stepped in through the acquisition just made a lot of sense for everybody.

RS: The hallmark of this is why it's really ideal for autologous cells. It's this ...

Want to learn more about how integrating the automated "Cocoon" cell production system with Novocart 3D and Novocart Inject platforms will disrupt the complexity and costs of the US Cartilage Repair Market? Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of our interview with Dr. Robert Spiro, CEO of Octane Biotherapeutics, conducted by David Shepard, SmartTRAK GM/Sr Analyst, Orthobio & Regen.

Topics: Regenerative Medicine Orthopedics Orthobiologics Soft Tissue Fixation

3 min read

OSET 2025: Spotlight on Conmed and BioBrace

By Andy Knapik on 11/13/25 6:06 PM

Conmed’s Lisa Donnelly, VP of Marketing for US Orthopedics, and Jeff Ott, Director of R&D, discuss their BioBrace technology in an interview with SmartTRAK at OSET 2025 in Las Vegas.

Conmed’s Lisa Donnelly, VP of Marketing for US Orthopedics, and Jeff Ott, Director of R&D, sat down with SmartTRAK at the Orthopaedic Summit (OSET) 2025 Annual Meeting in Las Vegas (September 18–25, 2025) to discuss BioBrace and how its bioinductive technology sets it apart from the competition.

To find out more about Conmed and BioBrace, click on the following video (16:30 min). A link to download a complete transcript of the interview is also provided below.

Hey everybody, it's Andy Knapik with SmartTRAK, here at Ortho Summit in Las Vegas, and I'm happy to be here at the ConMed booth, and joined by a good friend of mine, Lisa Donnelly, who's VP of Marketing for US Ortho for ConMed, and then also Jeff Ott, who is a director of R&D. Why don't you just start by talking to us about how you started with the company? I'm just going to let you go with the intro part.

Jeff Ott: Yes, happy to do that. I joined a small company called Biorez about six or seven years ago as a small startup. We were focused on trying to find ways to help with tendon and ligament healing, and we developed a product called the BioBrace, which now is a part of ConMed.

So, when was that acquired? That was about a year…

Lisa Donnelly: August of 2022.

Okay. So a few years now. Wow. It's flown.

JO: Yes, time has flown by. So the BioBrace, which we developed, we designed a product that is a bioinductive scaffold with strength. What we did is we created a product that can both reinforce a tendon or ligament repair, and it also can ...

Want to learn more about the BioBrace technology? Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of our exclusive interview with Conmed’s Lisa Donnelly, VP of Marketing for US Orthopedics, and Jeff Ott, Director of R&D, conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Sr. Analyst, Soft Tissue & Arthroscopic Technologies.

Topics: Orthopedics Arthroscopic Technologies Soft Tissue Fixation Arthroscopy

2 min read

A Unique Perspective on Orthopedics/Sports Medicine: An Interview with ESPN Writer/Analyst Stephania Bell

By Andy Knapik on 11/6/25 9:00 AM

Stephania Bell, a licensed physical therapist, ESPN senior writer, and renowned sports injury analyst, brings together her clinical expertise and media experience, exploring how sports injuries in professional athletes intersect with those seen in the general population.

In a recent interview with SmartTRAK, Stephania Bell, a licensed physical therapist, ESPN senior writer and renowned sports injury analyst, brings together her clinical expertise and media experience, exploring how sports injuries in professional athletes intersect with those seen in the general population.

Click on the following video to watch the interview (43:14 min). For more details, interview topics by timecode and a link to download a complete transcript of the interview are provided below.

Interview Topics By Timecode:

02:00 Stephania’s background.

11:15 Work with Arthrex on the education side.

18:50 Where do med device companies fit in with prevention?

21:51 Patient insistance on being treated like the pros.

29:24 Public perception of sports injuries.

The connection between sports injuries in professionals and those in the broader population offers valuable insight into treatment and recovery trends. Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of our interview with Stephania Bell, ESPN senior writer and renowned sports injury analyst, conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Sr. Analyst, Soft Tissue & Arthroscopic Technologies.

Topics: Orthopedics Trauma Soft Tissue Fixation

3 min read

Decoding the Future of Cartilage: Biologics, AI and the New Standard of Care

By Andy Knapik on 11/4/25 9:30 AM

Incoming ICRS President Dr. Christian Lattermann discusses the future of cartilage repair in an interview with SmartTRAK at the 2025 ICRS Global Congress in Boston.

In this interview, SmartTRAK speaks with Christian Lattermann, MD, the incoming president of the International Cartilage Regeneration and Joint Preservation Society (ICRS), about the future of joint repair. He shares insights on emerging technologies, highlighting advances in mechanical correction, AI and biologics. Dr. Lattermann explains how AI helps clinicians understand causes of degeneration that were previously overlooked. He emphasizes the excitement surrounding orthobiologics, especially extracellular vesicles, as a novel approach to guiding biological responses.

To find out more, click on the following video (22:22 min). Interview topics, organized by timecode, and a link to download a complete transcript of the interview are provided below.

Interview Outline by Timecode:

00:22 The three pillars of revolution: AI, biology, and mechanics.

06:36 Orthobiologics and extracellular vesicles: From "voodoo" to validated science.

10:25 Rethinking inflammation: fixing the "leak."

13:53 The collaborative alliance: industry, clinicians and researchers.

16:46: Finding the niche: comparing the roles of MACI, Agili-C, and other technologies.

21:29: Conclusion: the future of individualized patient care.

Curious about the future of cartilage repair? Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of our interview with the incoming ICRS president, Dr. Christian Lattermann, conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Sr. Analyst, Soft Tissue & Arthroscopic Technologies.

Topics: Orthobiologics Soft Tissue Fixation

2 min read

TendoNova: Revolutionizing Tendinopathy Care

By David Shepard on 9/16/25 9:30 AM

In an interview with SmartTRAK, TendoNova's National Sales Director, Ben Browne, discusses the TendoNova device, a minimally invasive percutaneous tool for treating refractory tendinopathy.

In this SmartTRAK interview, National Director of Sales Ben Browne shares his insights on the TendoNova device, a minimally invasive tool for treating refractory tendinopathy through soft tissue fragmentation and debridement that can also be combined with orthobiologics like platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Click on the following video to learn more (08:37 min). A link to download a transcript of the complete interview is also provided below.

SmartTRAK: Hi, this is David Shepard with SmartTRAK. I'm here with Ben Browne, national sales director for TendoNova. Ben, tell me a little bit about the product and how things are going at the booth today.

Ben Browne: So, it's a great conference, very active, most of the conference so far. And TendoNova is essentially a device that providers are going to use, perhaps instead of or in addition to orthobiologics, to treat a common refractory tendinopathy patient. A patient who's perhaps failed conservative therapies, they've dealt with tendinopathy or tendinosis for at least three months, in some cases, many months. And once again, they failed many conservative therapies. What's great about TendoNova is that ..

Click the button to get the full transcript of our exclusive interview with TendoNova's National Sales Director Ben Browne conducted by David Shepard, SmartTRAK GM/Sr Analyst, Orthobio & Regen.

Topics: Soft Tissue Fixation

2 min read

Novel New Implant for Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears: Reach Orthopaedics

By Andy Knapik on 9/9/25 9:30 AM

Christina Goudy, co-founder and CEO of Reach Orthopaedics, discusses the company and its new subacromial spacer device in an interview with SmartTRAK.

In a recent interview with SmartTRAK, Christina Goudy, co-founder and CEO of Reach Orthopaedics, discussed the company’s new subacromial (SA) spacer for the treatment of massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears, its strategic direction and company highlights.

To find out more about the company, its differentiated technologies, products and growth strategy, click on the following video (26:57 min). Interview topics by timecode are provided below, as is a link to download a complete transcript of the interview.

Interview Outline by Timecode:

00:50 Introduction to Reach Orthopaedics and Christina Goudy.
03:15 Image of SA spacer device.
07:05 Christina’s background and running a med device startup.
14:48 Age of the company, FDA pathway and funding.
18:16 Goal for sales to start.
19:42 What the surgeons are saying about the device, specs and sizes.
23:40 Exit strategy.

Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of SmartTRAK's interview with Christina Goudy, co-founder and CEO of Reach Orthopaedics, conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Sr. Analyst, Soft Tissue & Arthroscopic Technologies.

Topics: Orthopedics Soft Tissue Fixation

3 min read

AANA 2025: Spotlight On Pristine Surgical

By Andy Knapik on 6/5/25 10:07 AM

SmartTRAK spotlights Pristine Surgical in an interview at AANA 2025 in Washington, DC.

Bryan Lord, CEO of Pristine Surgical, discussed the company’s Summit 4K, single-use arthroscopic camera in an interview with SmartTRAK at the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA) 2025 Meeting in Washington, D.C .

Watch the following video to learn more about Pristine Surgical and its novel technology. (21:27 min.) A link to download a complete transcript of the interview is also provided below.

Hey, everybody, it's Andy Knapik, Senior Analyst for SmartTRAK for all things sports medicine and arthroscopy. I'm here at the AANA meeting in Washington, D.C. We're at the Pristine Surgical booth. I'm joined by Bryan Lord, CEO of Pristine Surgical, and here just to talk about what they have going on. They have a single-use arthroscopic camera.

Bryan, I've known you now for probably a few years, we've talked about this quite a bit. When we look in the video capital world, we see a lot of different things going on right now. We have traditional capital systems like the Strykers, and Smith+Nephews, Arthrexes of the world, with a full tower. We have some wireless options out there now that are pretty intriguing. And then we have some single-use options. Arthrex has a nanoscope and then you guys have yours as well.

So, talk about how this got started, what benefits you initially saw, and how is that progressing now.

BL: Yes, so the genesis of the scope that we see here today actually was in a rather niche application. Some docs said, ‘Look, we think we could do some things different in visualization.’ And they were looking for ways to do some different angular types of views, 30, 70, in more of a pannable configuration. The early days of the development we did in partnership with a group called DECA Research in Manchester, New Hampshire, led by the noted medtech developer and entrepreneur engineer, Dean Kamen. In the conversation with those doctors and Dean, the concept came up (Dean's idea) to say, ‘Look, we think that we could do this single use. Would that be interesting?’

At that time, it was still early in the ways that people were understanding the proliferation of digital technologies, but everybody knew, including Dean, who's always been in the forefront, this was really a big idea. How could we take today's burgeoning areas of digital photography and bring that into the surgical suite? And it was early on that we knew that it was ...

Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of SmartTRAK's interview with Bryan Lord, CEO of Pristine Surgical, conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Senior Analyst, Soft Tissue Fixation and Arthroscopic Enabling Technologies.

Topics: Arthroscopic Technologies Soft Tissue Fixation Arthroscopy

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.

Topics: Orthopedics Orthobiologics Soft Tissue Fixation

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.

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: Orthopedics Orthobiologics Soft Tissue Fixation

2 min read

Advances in Arthroscopic Innovation: An Interview with Stephen Snyder, MD

By Andy Knapik on 8/27/24 9:56 AM

Dr Stephen Snyder, MD, a renowned arthroscopic surgeon who now serves as the Medical Director for Pristine Surgical, discusses his experiences in the industry over the past 50 years.

In a recent interview with SmartTRAK, Dr. Stephen Snyder, a renowned arthroscopic surgeon who now serves as the medical director for Pristine Surgical, discussed his experiences in the industry over the past 50 years.

Click on the following video to watch the interview (58:52 min). For more details, interview topics by timecode are provided below. A link to download a complete transcript of the interview is also available below.

Interview Topics By Timecode:

00:50 Dr Snyder’s background.

08:02 The most notable advances that he saw during 40+ years in arthroscopy.

21:36 Some of the first arthroscopic repair procedures.

33:47 Using advanced technologies such as augmented reality.

39:17 The current state of industry meetings.

45:38 His role with Pristine Surgical and the advancing technologies in arthroscopic cameras.

Click the button below to download and read the complete transcript of the "Advances in Arthroscopic Innovation: An Interview with Stephen Snyder, MD" conducted by Andy Knapik, SmartTRAK Senior Analyst, Soft Tissue Fixation and Arthroscopic Enabling Technologies.

Topics: Soft Tissue Fixation Arthroscopy

SmartTRAK Life Sciences News and Analysis Blog

3 min read

Automating Cartilage Repair and the Road to Commercialization: Octane Biotherapeutics

3 min read

OSET 2025: Spotlight on Conmed and BioBrace

2 min read

A Unique Perspective on Orthopedics/Sports Medicine: An Interview with ESPN Writer/Analyst Stephania Bell

Interview Topics By Timecode:

3 min read

Decoding the Future of Cartilage: Biologics, AI and the New Standard of Care

Interview Outline by Timecode:

2 min read

TendoNova: Revolutionizing Tendinopathy Care

2 min read

Novel New Implant for Massive Irreparable Rotator Cuff Tears: Reach Orthopaedics

3 min read

AANA 2025: Spotlight On Pristine Surgical

3 min read

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

3 min read

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

2 min read

Advances in Arthroscopic Innovation: An Interview with Stephen Snyder, MD

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