Castellvi Meeting’s Remarkable Biomechanics/Biomaterials Course

Castellvi Spine’s third course, which focused on the general topic of biomechanics and biomaterials, was remarkable.

As has been the hallmark of this meeting, program directors brought to the podium fresh new speakers and insights which, frankly, are not found at other small meetings.

The topic of these stimulating discussions was biomaterials and biomechanics of spine devices and included several academic and clinical focused talks.

Prior to the CME portion of the evening, a trio of industry sponsored talks were provided by Baxter Advanced Surgical, Kuros Bioscience AG, and SI-BONE, Inc. Baxter presented information about its analytics driven blood management tool, vital edge. Kuros presented data supporting the synergy of structural biomaterials and bone grafts, including the benefits of newer synthetic bone graft alternatives. Finally, SI-BONE presented evidence of benefits derived from minimally invasive sacroiliac (SI) joint fusion using its iFuse 3D implants.

The sessions were moderated by Boyle Cheng, Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery at Drexel University and prolific researcher and surgeon with the Allegheny Health Network.

Panelist discussions began with Byron Masi, Ph.D., an engineer from Aesculap, Inc.. He spoke about the benefits of titanium coated PEEK implants. He described them as a best-of-both-worlds material with the radiolucency and elasticity of PEEK with the biocompatibility and osteogenic benefits of a roughened titanium surface.

Nicholas Cordaro, Ph.D., CEO of Watershed Idea Foundry, discussed additive manufacturing, a specialty of his company. He described the vast array of creative solutions for 3D printed implants and instruments that have been used and could be used in the future.

Next, Jim Ryaby, Ph.D., CSO of Orthofix Medical Inc., described the rise in cellular bone matrices and data from a recent study that he was involved in. He and his research partners found osteogenic properties in several cellular bone matrices in a rat model. Many of the products tested resulted in increased bone growth, but a few stood out in terms of early fusion, such as Trinity ELITE (from Orthofix) and Cellentra (from Zimmer Biomet).

Paul Kraemer, M.D., from Indiana Spine Group in Carmel, Indiana, discussed new advances in polymer biomaterials and the search for what he calls “PEEK 2.0.” The short comings of PEEK, such as little-to-no bone on-growth and even poor growth of bone through the center window of PEEK implants, are primary targets for improvement. His involvement with the company, DiFusion, Inc., has given him the opportunity to use the company’s Xiphos-ZF, an implant made of ZFUSE, a PEEK polymer mixed with zeolite. The compound drastically changes the way the surrounding tissues interact with the implant. The characteristics of the new material induce M2 macrophage responses, hallmarks of lowering inflammation and healing. The material has been shown to encourage bony on-growth and still retain all of the benefits of PEEK.

Sean Malloy, D.O., provided an update on the biomechanics of stand-alone interbody devices, Dan Altman, M.D., gave a talk on the importance of pelvic fixation in trauma cases, and Bryan Cornwall, Ph.D., discussed the importance of clinical input in the design process for new implants, instruments and procedures.

The Castellvi Spine meeting is one of the must attend meetings in spine. Every year, this program, which is directed by James Billys, M.D., principal investigator with the Foundation for Orthopaedic Research and Education (FORE), brings leading scientists and speakers together for, truly, one of the very best small, CME meetings for spine and neurosurgeons.

Even if a physician missed any of these courses, they were recorded and will be available.

The final meeting of the Castellvi Spine-Advances in Spine Surgery is on October 1, 2020 when we will discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spine surgery.