The companies with the BEST new spine care technologies for 2019 are: A-Line Orthopaedics Corp., Camber Spine, ControlRad, Inc., icotec Medical Inc., joimax, Inc., LifeNet Health, NuVasive, Inc., Reflexion Health, Saluda Medical Pty Ltd, Tissue Differentiation Intelligence LLC (TDi) and Vivex Biologics, Inc.
CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners for 2019!
Rewarding Innovation and Perspiration
This annual award rewards inventors, engineering teams, surgeons and their companies who’ve created the most innovative, enduring and practical products in 2018 to treat back care. To win the Orthopedics This Week Best New Technology Award for spine care, a new technology must meet the following criteria:
- Be creative and innovative.
- Bring long term significance to treating spine pathologies. Does this technology have staying power?
- Solve a current clinical problem.
- Improve standard of care
- Is 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.
Submitters
A record 41 technologies were submitted for the 2019 BEST SPINE TECHNOLOGY award. We offer our thanks and deep appreciation to the engineering teams, surgeon inventors and companies for submitting their best ideas this year.
The Judges
(Top Row): Boyle Cheng, Ph.D., Reginald Davis, M.D.: FACS, Larry T. Khoo, M.D. and Isador Lieberman, M.D., M.B.A., FRCSC (Bottom Row): Andrew Manista, M.D., John Peloza, M.D. and Rick Sasso, M.D.: Rick Sasso, M.D.
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 a board-certified neurosurgeon. He earned his undergraduate degree in biology, chemistry and mathematics from Marietta College in Ohio, followed by post-graduate study at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Davis’ internship and residency in general surgery followed by neurosurgery residency was also at Johns Hopkins. He became, and remains, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Davis is one of the most published spine researchers and is active in numerous professional societies including the Florida Neurosurgical Society and the American Board of Neurological Surgery.
Larry T. Khoo, M.D.: Dr. Khoo is a board certified neurosurgeon whose degree in Biological Sciences is from Stanford University. He is also a magna cum laude graduate from Yale Medical School. He completed his internship and residency in neurological surgery at USC. In 2001, the Congress of Neurological Surgery awarded him the Ralph Cloward Medtronic’s Fellowship Award which he completed at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Khoo is the author of over 60 peer reviewed journal articles, 10 patents, 60 book chapters, 2 full books, and 400 scientific presentations.
Isador Lieberman, M.D., M.B.A., FRCSC: Dr. Lieberman is a fellowship trained Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgeon. He completed medical school and residency at the University of Toronto. His Spine surgery and Trauma surgery fellowships were at the Toronto Hospital and Queen’s Medical Center in Nottingham. His clinical interests are adolescent and adult scoliosis, deformity reconstruction, spinal tumors, minimally invasive/robotic/endoscopic spinal surgery, treatment of vertebral compression fractures, cervical and lumbar degenerative disorders and trauma. Dr. Lieberman founded the Uganda Charitable Spine Surgery Mission, which treats patients who otherwise do not have access to care for spinal ailments, including tuberculosis and scoliosis.
Andrew Manista, M.D.: Dr. Manista is, among other claims to fame, an accomplished musician with a BA in Music Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music. He parlayed that training into a Doctor of Medicine degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, a Halsted Surgical Internship, an Orthopaedic Surgery Residency and then a Spine Surgery Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Manista is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and specializes in complex surgery of the spine at the Olympia Orthopaedic Associates in Olympia, Washington.
John Peloza, M.D.: Dr. Peloza is a pioneer and an internationally recognized leader in minimally invasive spine technology. He was instrumental in helping to launch several minimally invasive orthopedic spine treatments including SEXTANT™, MET-Rx™ and the MAVERICK™ total disc replacement as well as adult stem cell therapy. Dr. Peloza attended the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Illinois. His medical degree with highest honors is from Northwestern University Medical School. He is active in the International Spine Injection Society, North American Spine Society, American College of Sports Medicine, American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.
Rick Sasso, M.D.: Dr. Sasso is a founding member, and the president of Indiana Spine Group. He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, specializing in spine surgery. Additionally, he is a professor and chief of spine surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Sasso has dedicated his medical career to the comprehensive treatment and surgery of spinal disorders and abnormalities and is actively involved in spine surgery research including the research and development of spinal implants and techniques of minimally invasive spine surgery, as well as the development of instrumentation technology used to treat spinal disorders.
So, without further delay, here are the ten best new spine technologies for 2019 in alphabetical order:
