ATRO Medical B.V., based in the Netherlands, has been recognized by Johnson & Johnson Innovation as an Awardee in the Veterans Lead QuickFire Challenge. The Dutch startup company, founded in 2017, has invented a novel prosthetic meniscus—named “Trammpolin®”—to relieve pain and restore knee mobility in patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis (OA).
Dutch Startup Helping Vets Gets J&J Award
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Secondary#kneeosteoarthritis#atromedical#prostheticmeniscus
The Quickfire Challenge series is a collaboration between Johnson & Johnson Innovation and Johnson & Johnson’s Office of Military and Veterans Affairs. Innovators from several fields are invited to submit ideas which address military community health care needs—which encompass cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, oncology, orthopedic and musculoskeletal disease, physical trauma management, respiratory health, and vision loss.
The incidence of knee OA is reportedly 10 times higher in military personnel and therefore a very promising disease category for this J&J award program.
ATRO’s Market Development Manager, Maarten van der Zanden, told OTW, “Trammpolin is an anatomically shaped artificial meniscus made of medical grade polycarbonate urethane. It is held in place on the tibial plateau via tape at two fixation points. The prosthesis is designed to restore the knee mechanics and provide pain relief in patients who underwent a resection of meniscus tissue in the past and developed chronic knee pain due to absence of the meniscus. The fixation, its anatomical design and the non-degradable PCU are unique features of our artificial meniscus.”
“We would be honored if our Trammpolin Meniscus Prosthesis could play a part in providing pain relief for these veterans. Besides the recognition, this award comes with grant funding, which will be spent on accelerating the development of the lateral meniscus prosthesis.”
According to ATRO, its meniscus prosthesis, which is still under development, has received FDA breakthrough device designation, the EU Seal of Excellence and the MedTech Innovator finalist award by AdvaMed. Their medial prosthesis is under investigation in a prospective clinical study in the Netherlands.
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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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