Stryker introduces 3-D printed posterior lumbar cage

Stryker’s Spine Division is scheduled to debut the company’s 3-D printed Tritanium Posterior Lumbar Cage at the American Association of Neurological Surgeon Annual Meeting.

According to a company release, the cage is constructed with Stryker’s tritanium technology, a highly porous titanium alloy designed for bone ingrowth and biological fixation, and manufactured with 3-D printing. Stryker’s 3-D printing process reportedly allows for the creation of porous structures designed to mimic cancellous bone.

“We are pleased to bring this technology advancement to spine surgeons and their patients,” Brad Paddock, president of Stryker’s Spine Division, said in the release. He added, “Unlike traditional manufacturing techniques, the flexibility of our 3-D additive manufacturing capabilities allows us to precisely engineer and produce porous tritanium devices. The Tritanium [Posterior Lumbar] PL Cage is an exciting addition to our growing suite of unique spinal products.”

The cage is available in different widths, lengths, heights and lordotic angles, and is implanted using a posterior approach. The cage is indicated for use with autograft and/or allogenic bone graft as an adjunct to fusion in patients with degenerative disc disease at one or two contiguous levels from L2 to S1. It can also be used as an adjunct to fusion in patients with degenerative scoliosis, according to the release.

The Tritanium Cage will be available in mid-2016 to orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons.

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