DePuy Spine to offer steerable needle with its spinal cement system for vertebral body augmentation

During last week’s 25th Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society (NASS), DePuy Spine, Inc. announced that it has signed an agreement with Osseon Therapeutics, Inc. to market and distribute the Osseoflex Steerable Needle with its CONFIDENCE Spinal Cement System in the United States.

The CONFIDENCE System is a unique solution for the minimally invasive treatment of painful vertebral compression fractures, DePuy Spine noted in a press release. When used with the Osseoflex needle, the CONFIDENCE System enables precise placement of specially-formulated high-viscosity spinal cement directly into channels or voids created within vertebral bodies by the needle. The Osseoflex needle may be navigated directly to the fracture after insertion through a unipedicular approach, the company said.

By offering these products together, Gary Fischetti, worldwide president, DePuy Spine, stated in the release it will “continue to enhance the precision required in vertebral body augmentation procedures and provide clinicians more choices in how they approach vertebral compression fractures and patients greater access to advanced treatment.”

CONFIDENCE Spinal Cement achieves high viscosity immediately after mixing and stays at a constant high viscosity before curing, allowing for optimal working time. The high-viscosity properties are designed to allow for interdigitation, preserving the remaining trabecular structure of the vertebral body. Its dough-like consistency provides a controlled, more even fill than low-viscosity cement and may reduce the potential for leakage, thte company noted The Osseoflex needle was launched by Osseon in 2009 and has been used in more than 1,000 vertebral body augmentation procedures.