The ten companies with the BEST new spine care technologies for 2018 are: Augmedics, DiFusion Inc., Green Sun Medical, K2M, Inc., MiRus, LLC, Power T Handle, LLC, RTI Surgical, Inc., Simplify Medical, Inc., SurGenTec and Tyber Medical LLC.
CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners for 2018!
Rewarding Innovation and Perspiration
This 2018 annual award rewards inventors, engineering teams, surgeons and their companies who’ve created the most innovative, enduring and practical products to treat back care. To win the Orthopedics This Week Best New Technology Award for spine care, a new technology must meet the judges’ following criteria:
- Be creative and innovative.
- Have long term significance to the problem of treating the diseases of the spine. Does this technology have staying power?
- Solve a clinical problem. To what extent does this technology solve a current clinical problem or problem that is inadequately solved today?
- Does it have the potential to improve standard of care?
- Is it cost effective?
- I would use it.
Our expert panel scores every submission on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest score) for each of the above criteria.
We and our panelists were impressed that inventors—despite ever growing hurdles to innovation and entrepreneurism in spine—still managed to create a solid group of new products to submit for the 2018 Orthopedics This Week Spine Technology Awards.
Submitters
A record 31 companies submitted their best ideas for the 2018 BEST SPINE TECHNOLOGY award. We offer our thanks and deep appreciation to the engineering teams, surgeon inventors and the following companies for submitting their best ideas this year.
The Judges
Our intrepid panel of eight judges were:
Paul A. Anderson, M.D.: Dr. Anderson is professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and nationally recognized expert in spinal trauma and complex cervical spine disorders. His research encompasses spinal fixation implants, the artificial cervical disc and basic research in disc regeneration. His current projects include: Sleep Disturbance in Orthopedic Patients Continuous Motion Analysis of the Human Spine and a Classification System for Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease
Scott Boden, M.D.: Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics, Director of Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center and Chief Medical Officer Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital, Dr. Scott Boden is one of the founding fathers of modern spine surgery. He is an internationally renowned lecturer and teacher and is one of the world’s top spine surgeons and researchers.
Dr. Boden’s research currently encompasses cell/molecular biology of osteoblast differentiation including study of the mechanism of action of bone growth factors (BMPs), the design and development of small drug-like molecules that will enhance bone formation locally, regionally, and possibly systemically, animal models of spine fusion to understand the biology of the healing process and test the efficacy of various bone graft substitutes and outcomes research relating to spinal disorders, diagnostic imaging, and utilization of health care resources.
Boyle Cheng, Ph.D.: Dr. Cheng is Professor of Neurosurgery at Drexel University – Allegheny General Hospital. He is the Director of Research for the Neuroscience Institute at Allegheny Health Network and maintains an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. His grant-funded research has included topics including the evaluation of anterior cervical disc replacement in a sheep model, biomechanical studies of a biased angle posterior cervical system, facet motion preservation technologies as well as dynamic and physical modeling based on specimen specific imaging and kinematic studies.
Reginald Davis, M.D., FACS: Dr. Davis is the Director of Clinical Research at the Laser Spine Institute. He first made his mark as part of the elite medical team that performed the 22-hour, historic surgery to successfully separate conjoined twins at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Today Dr. Davis is one of the most published spine researchers and most recently brought his thoughtful, methodical approach to identifying, evaluating and implementing new technologies in the ambulatory spine surgery setting. Dr. Davis is active in numerous professional societies including the Florida Neurosurgical Society and the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
Ira L. Fedder, M.D.: Dr. Fedder is a fellowship-trained orthopaedic surgeon with Towson Orthopaedic Associates in Maryland. Dr. Fedder is experienced in all aspects of spine and neck problems including the treatment of arm pain, cervical disc herniations, myelopathy, cervical stenosis, leg pain and weakness, lumbar stenosis, sciatica, lumbar disc herniations, tumors, and infections. He is also author and co-author in dozens of clinical studies, a consultant to young technology companies and a frequent presenter at surgeon meetings.
Jeffrey A. Goldstein, M.D.: Dr. Goldstein is the chief of the Spine Service for Education and program director of the Spine Fellowship in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone. Dr. Goldstein is a particularly active researcher in the areas of biomedical materials and devices and participates regularly in clinical trials. Dr. Goldstein is also the author of numerous book chapters and articles that have been published nationally and internationally. He is the winner of the Leon L. Wiltse “Best Paper” award at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. He was selected by New York Magazine and Super Doctors as one of New York’s “Best Doctors” and by Castle Connolly as one of America’s “Top Doctors.” Finally, Dr. Goldstein serves on the editorial and advisory boards of The Spine Journal, the International Journal of Spine Surgery, the Global Spine Journal, Spine Surgery Today, and the Bulletin of the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and is on the review board for Spine.
Scott Webb, D.O.: Dr. Webb is Surgical Director of Florida Spine Institute and participates in several research projects including motion preservation and minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of spinal stenosis and back or neck pain. Dr. Webb performed the first Facet Joint Replacement in the Lumbar Spine in both Romania and in the United States. He received his Honorary Doctorate (Honoris Causa) from Victor Babes University of Medicine. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, American College of Spine Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association, American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Hansen A. Yuan, M.D.: Dr. Hansen A. Yuan is the retired Professor of Orthopaedic and Neurological Surgery at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University. Dr. Yuan has trained thousands of surgeons from around the world and has advised hundreds of young medical technology firms. Dr. Yuan has authored more than 100 articles and many abstracts published in peer-reviewed journals. He has been a contributing author of 16 chapters to medical books. Dr. Yuan researches in the areas of degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, and bone healing and bone substitute. In North America and Asia, universities and hospitals invite Dr. Yuan as a visiting professor. Many times, he has been a Presidential Guest to the Republic of China speaking on Orthopaedic Surgery.
