Wednesday, August 24, 2022
Nexus Spine, a developer of biomechanically-advanced solutions for spinal pathologies, today announced the full commercial launch of its PressON™ posterior lumbar fixation system. PressON™ features rods that press onto pedicle screws rather than attach using set screws. This novel design is approximately one quarter the size of traditional systems, is faster to implant, is biomechanically stronger, eliminates the possibility of set screw loosening, and allows for intraoperative construction of patient-specific rods. This full market release adds to the company’s growing compliant mechanism-based portfolio, including its line of flexible Tranquil™ titanium interbody fusion devices, and follows a lengthy validation phase of refinements and system enhancements.
Nexus’s use of compliant mechanism technology allows for the creation of novel designs that behave in fundamentally new ways to solve unmet clinical needs. Compliant mechanisms function by bending rather than sliding. As an example, PressON™ incorporates flexible bores that are stretched over pedicle screw heads during implantation. The resulting elastic interference fit between screw and rod does not use traditional set screws, which have been shown to loosen during implantation and postoperatively.
Thomas Sweeney, II, MD, PhD, the surgeon designer of the system, commented, “There hasn’t been meaningful innovation in non-deformity posterior fixation technologies in a very long time. PressON™ is unlike anything else on the market in the way that the components are connected. Not only does it result in a construct that is smaller, stronger, and faster to implant, but it is also unique in its ability to create patient-specific multilevel rods intraoperatively. As a result, it eliminates the need for rod bending and the pain associated with improperly bent rods and rod creep. PressON™ is uniquely poised to disrupt the posterior lumbar fixation market that has long been mired by a lack of differentiation.”
“Our expertise in compliant mechanism engineering allows us to do some really unique things,” commented David Hawkes, President of Nexus Spine. “The ability to secure PressON™ rods through elastic interference rather than using set screws is certainly a paradigm shift. We are in the process of shining a light on the incidence and harmful effects4 of set screw loosening through clinical and benchtop research. We look forward to sharing the results of these studies soon.”
