It can take quite a while for a new medical device to reach the point where it's being used by doctors in a clinical healthcare setting and helping real patients.
One of
Pioneer Surgical Technology's recent innovations in cardiac surgery devices, the Tritium Sternal Cable Plating System, hit that mark, the Marquette-based company announced.
Heart surgeon Dr. Robert Wiencek used the Tritium system, built for closing median sternotomies following open-heart surgery, at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada for the first time.
The Tritium system can replace traditional closure methods like cerclage cables and anterior plates, because it combines the two into one stable system that eliminates motion of the sternum during a complex procedure. Pioneer's director of sales and marketing, Peter Didyk, describes the system as using a load-sharing concept that remains low-profile but offers greater stability and strength.
"This unique combination creates a load-sharing design that uses cable tension to provide circumferential compression across the median sternotomy," says Didyk. "The device complements our current sternal cable system by offering additional options to accommodate surgeon preferences and better address variances in patient anatomy."
The new product was a year in development and clearance, right in time for Pioneer's 20th anniversary in 2012.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Pioneer Surgical Technology
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