Medtronic, Inc. is sending out a new fleet of high-tech vehicles that are fully equipped with procedural/anatomical labs and conference areas to bring training and educational programs to surgeons and other health care professionals around the U.S.
Medtronic Spine Goes Mobile
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Called Catalyst Mobile Educational Centers, the trucks provide access to every Medtronic spinal technology including implants, instrumentation such as the company’s powered surgical tools, fluoroscopes, and surgical imaging and navigation systems. The trucks also have a state-of-the-art audio-visual system that enables demonstrations taking place in the laboratory to be viewed in the conference areas.
Doug King, head of Medtronic’s spine business said health care professionals will appreciate the convenience and cost-efficiency of not having to travel long distances for education about Medtronic equipment, instruments, implants and procedural solutions in spine surgery.
“We are building a new mobile education experience that will not only elevate our educational offering but take education programs directly to our customers, ” says Training and Education Senior Manager Grady Davis. “In addition to the larger, main lab trailer and conference trailer, we are also building two smaller satellite trailers that are designed to function as on-demand, quick turn-around labs that can be dispatched at any time.”
The company unveiled the fleet at the 27th Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society in Dallas.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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