SmartTRAK identified several trends at NASS 2022 that have the potential to improve patient care and drive advancement in the spine market, including the shift of fusion procedures to the ASC setting, a potential tipping point for the adoption of endoscopic spine care, and emerging innovations within the interbody space.

At the North American Spine Society (NASS) 2022 Annual Meeting in Chicago, SmartTRAK witnessed a revival in energy that has been absent in recent years due to COVID-19, healthcare disruption and industry M&A integration. Exhibitors had the opportunity to teach attendees about new technology in a multitude of ways – a new live surgical theater was proudly projected throughout the exhibit hall and most companies were equally inviting to conversations about macro technology developments. Though SmartTRAK has seen so much innovation in spine over the recent several years, which of these advancements will truly lead to improved patient care? SmartTRAK identified several trends at NASS 2022 that have the potential to improve patient care and drive growth in the spine market over the coming two-to-five years. These include the shift of procedures from the hospital to outpatient and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) settings, increased adoption and adaptation within surgical approaches and the introduction of custom interbody implants, and many others.

Among the many topics covered in detail in this article are:

OFIX and SPNE announced a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals. Both companies believe there are meaninful cross-selling revenue synergies, as well as at least $40MM in YoY cost savings to capture over the 3 years following the transaction. The companies have expressed revenue goals of ~$1.0B concluding year 3 post-merger.

Looking forward, the new organization will be a spine and orthopedics company with complementary portfolios in biologics, spinal hardware, bone growth therapies, orthopedic solutions and enabling surgical technologies. SmartTRAK notes that once merged, the new company will be strategically positioned in high-growth emerging technology, including cervical disc replacement with M6-C, enabling technology with 7D’s FLASH Navigation System and OrthoNext preop planning, and with focused development in spine and limb within pediatrics. Additionally, the new company will have a highly competitive offering in the spinal interbody space with its WaveForm 3D and NanoMetalene technologies. Together, the combined company’s biologics portfolio will also represent one of the broadest offerings available in spine and orthopedics.

SmartTRAK believes the complimentary product portfolios provide a comprehensive offering and

 In an interview with SmartTRAK, Joel Gambrell, Co-founder and CEO for Astura Medical, shares the series of new products launching at NASS and, specifically, reveals what makes Astura’s new Integrated Expandable ALIF System, El Capitan, truly differentiated.

Since the Company was founded in 2014, Astura Medical has achieved fast growth, established a reputation for elegance and quality in its product offering and taken a different methodology to both product development and business operations. In an interview with SmartTRAK, Joel Gambrell, Co-founder and CEO, provides insight on how Astura’s R&D process is unique, unveils why Astura’s approach to custom implants offers the most real-time precision and reveals the distinctions that make the new Integrated Expandable ALIF System, El Capitan, truly differentiated. In addition to El Capitan, Astura Medical will be launching several other new technologies at the North American Spine Society’s (NASS) annual 2022 meeting in Chicago. 

SmartTRAK's spine experts will be roaming the floor at NASS 2022, bringing our subscribers real-time news direct from the show. We'll also be on the show floor at booth #2341, ready to answer your questions, share insights on the latest news and innovations in the Spine Market and discuss how SmartTRAK can help you Be the Expert in your market.  If you would like to book a meeting with us at NASS, just click here.

Continue reading to find out how to download a complete transcript of SmartTRAK's interview with CEO Joel Gambrell.

With the North American Spine Society (NASS) 2022 annual meeting next week in Chicago, anticipation builds to see if some of the top players' product launches are unveiled at the event, including potential new offerings from Medtronic and NuVasive. Meanwhile, SmartTRAK expects to see bright spots from some of the pure-play companies like Centinel, Alphatec and Astura Medical. The event will surely be a pick-me-up from sluggish market performance plagued by budget constraints and supply chain issues. 

Our spine experts will be roaming the floor, bringing our subscribers real-time news direct from the show. We'll also be on the show floor at booth #2341, ready to answer your questions, share insights on the latest in the spine market and discuss how SmartTRAK can help you Be the Expert in your market. To make sure you’re up to speed before the meeting, here is a sample of recent spine news collected and curated by the expert analysts at SmartTRAK. If you would like to book a meeting with us at NASS, please click the button below.

New Products:

• prodisc C* - Centinel Spine*
  

  Centinel Spine announced expansion of the prodisc cTDR portfolio. Currently, Centinel has 510(k) clearance for 1-level indications for prodisc C Vivo, prodisc C SK and prodisc C Nova giving them the broadest global offering in cTDR.

Dr. Kim outlines his extensive experience in adopting endoscopic spine surgery and reflects on barriers to widespread adoption, including the learning curve and reimbursement challenges

Endoscopic and arthroscopic technology has been around for a number of years, aiding surgeons’ visualization to treat patients in much less invasive ways than were previously possible. Prior to the introduction and adoption of these types of technology, surgeons were faced with invasive, more traumatic procedures and sometimes limitations on visualization based on anatomy. Less invasive approaches have allowed patients to benefit from less risk, shorter hospital stays and, in many cases, quicker healing.

Endoscopic approaches to spine surgery have been taking place for 10+ years, but the market hasn’t experienced transformative growth. All the patient benefits align with relative adoption trends, so why haven’t we seen endoscopic spine surgery grow at a similar rate? What does the future look like in this segment? SmartTRAKsat down with minimally invasive spine surgery pioneer Choll Kim, MD, PhD to explore his thoughts on focusing his minimally invasive surgical practice around specific offering of endoscopic spinal techniques, what the pros and cons have been within the adoption curve of the technology and where he thinks the market is headed.

SmartTRAK's spine experts will be roaming the floor at NASS 2022, bringing our subscribers real-time news direct from the show. We'll also be on the show floor at booth #2341, ready to answer your questions, share insights on the latest news and innovations in the Spine Market and discuss how SmartTRAK can help you Be the Expert in your market.  If you would like to book a meeting with us at NASS, please click here.

Continue reading to find out how to download a complete transcript of SmartTRAK's interview with Dr. Kim.

Q122’s year-over-year growth in the WW Spine market shows normalized, nominal growth for this quarter, which should continue to improve over the course of the remaining year.

The US Spine Hardware market saw double-digit growth versus Q121, showing solid recovery gains from the same period prior year, which seemed to be riddled with ongoing volatility. Segment over segment within the spine market, we’re back to seeing growth in the areas that had been predicable growth segments prior to COVID-19. Although healthcare as a whole continues to rebuild, and staffing remains a challenge, many regions didn’t experience as negative an impact on the Spine market for Q122 as was predicted by many.

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

The SmartTRAK team will be attending the upcoming International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) in The Bahamas and we would love to schedule some time to meet. We are particularly excited about this year’s conference program and speakers.

Our team of expert analysts have their finger on the pulse on the spine industry trends, news, financial data and competitor developments. We would like to meet to hear your perspectives and views and discuss how SmartTRAK can help you make more informed strategic business decisions.

Watch the video below to meet Courtney Sheedy, SmartTRAK's GM, Spine

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We are pleased to announce that Tracey Clarke has joined the team at SmartTRAK as our new Account Manager, Customer Success. Tracey has 20+ years experience in the Print and Digital Communications industry, including roles as a Client Relations Manager and IT Project Manager at Broadridge Customer Communications and DST Output LTD.

Meet Tracey Clarke:

What is your role with SmartTRAK? I am an Account Manager on the newly established Customer Success team.

What do you like about SmartTRAK? This is an exciting time to be starting at SmartTRAK. There are many positive changes happening and I am enjoying the opportunity to see the outcome. I feel very fortunate to be with a company that helps others Be the Expert.

We are pleased to announce that Courtney Sheedy has joined the team at SmartTRAK as our new General Manager, Spine. Courtney has 15+ years of Global Marketing and Product Development experience dedicated to the spinal medical device market serving in leadership roles for companies like Zimmer Biomet, Alphatec, Corelink and joimax.

Meet Courtney Sheedy:

What is your role with SmartTRAK? General Manager, Spine

What do you like about SmartTRAK? I’m fortunate to have been a user of SmartTRAK for many years prior to joining the ranks as a GM. I love how dynamic the SmartTRAK platform is. For Marketing and Business Development teams to be able to access real-time market information to guide their pipeline planning and day-to-day marketing strategies is one of the most unique and beneficial attributes. I also love how user-friendly the platform is. As a former marketer, I loved the ability to export data files for direct use.

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).