Stryker Corporation’s Spine division has acquired the product portfolio of SafeWire, LLC.
Stryker Acquires Products From SafeWire
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The SafeWire products are used in minimally invasive procedures using Stryker’s percutaneous ES2 spinal fixation system & LITe (less invasive technologies) procedure solutions. Products including the Y-Wire guidewire and Tiger Jamshidi Needle Family.
An April 11, 2016 announcement stated that the Y-Wire has a “patented feature that is designed to mitigate potential wire-based complications, such as inadvertent advancement of the guidewire through bone, accidental pullout, kinking, or wire migration. In addition, with reduced surgical steps and technical ease, the Y-Wire helps to optimize workflow for minimally invasive spine cases, and to significantly reduce patient and surgeon exposure to fluoroscopy.”
SafeWire launched Y-Wire in the U.S. in April 2012 and received FDA clearance for Y-Wire 2 in June 2014.
In September 2014 SafeWire launched the Tiger Pedicle Access Needle family. The company said the system provides surgeons with “unparalled control of pedicle access needle advancement, measured and adjustable guide wire deployment, streamlined pedicle preparation, and atraumatic mechanical access needle removal.”
Wyatt Geist was founder, chairman and CEO of SafeWire, and has developed and patented many devices.
Brad Paddock, president of Stryker’s Spine division said. “This acquisition increases our competitive advantage as we broaden our product line and extend our customer base among teaching facilities, competitive accounts, and existing SafeWire customers.”
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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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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