Six weeks after receiving FDA clearance for its NavioPFS system, Blue Belt Technologies, Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has made its first U.S. system sale to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, California. In a release from PR Newswire, Blue Belt officials said they expect “that Community Regional will establish itself as the first U.S.-based center for Blue Belt and begin performing Navio partial knee surgeries in February 2013 led by Dr. D. Kevin Lester.”
First NavioPRS Sale Made in U.S.
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Lester said, “The Navio technology allows me to precisely plan and prepare the bone for partial knee replacements, making available a surgery that can positively impact a patient with mild to mid stage osteoarthritis and knee pain. The NavioPFS hand piece provides me precise control in a form factor that lends itself to easy integration into my operating room’s traditional workflow.”
Officials of Blue Belt Technologies, Inc. report that the firm is developing the next generation of “smart” surgical instruments with precision robotics for use initially in orthopedic procedures. The NavioPFS System provides the surgeon with a layer of safety and enhanced accuracy while performing bone-shaping tasks through minimally invasive incisions.
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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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