SpineSmith receives U.S. patent for VisuALIF lumbar interbody device

SpineSmith, a Celling Biosciences company, announces that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued US Patent 8,273,127, covering the VisuALIF®, the first lumbar interbody device featuring a revolutionary open-face design.  

In October 2010 the VisuALIF received FDA clearance per K102090 for commercial sale in the United States. The company has performed over 400 procedures utilizing the technology since its launch.  The system is currently being utilized across the US with an anticipated CE marking for 2013.  The VisuALIF family of products will include a lateral design, cervical design and unique plating designs for all approaches.   

"The VisuALIF device is a comprehensive system designed for physicians to take advantage of maximum graft placement to optimize the fusion environment.  We believe the unique design allows surgeons to dedicate the appropriate attention to all three key elements of the fusion procedure:  cell biology, optimal substrates and the medical device," said Kevin Dunworth, founder of SpineSmith.

The proprietary technology is designed to give surgeons the option for in-situ graft delivery and provide the ability to choose the appropriate plate system depending on different anatomical challenges.  The Challenging Access Plate is a unique plate that provides ease of use when approaching the challenges at the L5-S1 juncture. 

The design of the system was based off ease of use and solving surgical technique issues that are not currently addressed by other systems on the market.  "The VisuALIF's open access allows a physician to visualize the disc space for in-situ implant preparation, prepare for optimal end plate contact and maximize a large volume of graft to give the patient the optimal chances for bone fusion," said Dr. Mark Rahm of Scott & White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.

The VisuALIF® patent is part of an intellectual property portfolio from SpineSmith that includes more than 39 pending patents that focuses on cell centric devices, substrates and delivery methods for a number of cell therapy applications across several disciplines of medicine.  "Today's regenerative medicine market is becoming increasingly competitive.  We believe our niche is to create products and techniques that combine the core competencies of science and engineering to create an innovative product portfolio," said Dunworth.

SOURCE Celling Biosciences