Stryker Corporation buys MAKO Surgical. Smith & Nephew signs a deal with Blue Belt Technologies, Inc. while Blue Belt and MAKO duke out disagreements in court. Then OMNIlife Science, Inc. announces they’ve now done 4, 000 total knees using their OMNIplasty procedure.
Blue Belt’s Robot Teams With DePuy Synthes’ SIGMA Knee
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The orthopedic robot wars got even more interesting on September 17, 2014, as DePuy Synthes got into the act and announced an agreement with Blue Belt. It’s starting to look like Europe in 1914.
Co-Marketing Agreement
Under the agreement, surgeons will be able to use the SIGMA HP Partial Knee System with Blue Belt’s Navio surgical system.
Blue Belt’s CEO Eric Timko told us that the commercial co-marketing agreement marks a “significant step towards maximizing the potential for our Navio robotic-assisted partial knee replacement technology. We strongly believe that the open implant platform strategy we have taken is the correct approach in order to allow our surgeons to deliver the best care for their patients while utilizing the implant of their choice. All of our partners deliver strong value to the end user.”
Larger Audience
He said providing support for the world’s largest provider of orthopedic and neurologic solutions partial knee system provides an increasingly larger audience for Blue Belt.
“These partnerships have the potential to accelerate our company’s commercial and clinical traction. As with many of our partners, Blue Belt also sees significant synergies with DePuy Synthes products and efforts. Productive company growth will drive further research into clinical applications for our robotic-assisted surgical tools. We view the basis of our computer control methodologies as being the most versatile available, enabling accurate and precise bone resection for a variety of applications, without being tethered to a robotic-arm based system, ” added Timko.
The DePuy Synthes announcement said that approximately seven percent of all knee replacement patients worldwide are treated with uni-compartmental knees. The company claims the SIGMA partial knee is the only “truly modular system specifically designed to allow uni-compartmental, bi-compartmental (unicompartmental tibiofemoral with patellofemoral) or staged replacement of the knee joint, meaning surgeons can match the implant specifically to a patient’s disease state to retain healthy bone, cartilage and ligaments.”
Andrew Ekdahl, head of DePuy Synthes’ orthopedic business said combining SIGMA’s benefit of enabling surgeons to repair only the parts of the knee that are damaged, with Blue Belt’s proprietary technology, enables more precise implant placement and soft-tissue balancing to advance patient care.
React:
Discussion
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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