The Cadisc-L from Ranier Technology is a polyurethane-polycarbonate graduated modulus spinal disc implant with physiological, progressive bending stiffness. The implant has a mobile centre of rotation for load sharing biomechanics and is well seen on MRI or x-ray. Ranier Technology was granted CE (Conformité Européenne) safety marks for Cadisc-L in 2010. According to https://www.theguardian.com, the devices, made by the now-defunct Ranier Technology, which was based in Cambridge, are the focus of legal action brought by prosecutors in Germany against a doctor who implanted them, allegedly without first obtaining fully informed patient consent.
Features:
- The surface of the implant has a macro- and micro-texture with a CaPO4 coating for osseo-integration.
- It has a graduated stiffness from nucleus to annulus, with no (debris generating) articulating components. Biomechanical testing shows that the unique nature of the Elastomimetic Cadisc-L provides a moving centre of rotation, mimicking the physiological characteristics of the natural disc, thus giving the potential for reduced adjacent segment degeneration
- Cadisc-L has no metal end-plates. Instead, the end plate surfaces, (which incorporate calcium phosphate-coated low-profile fixation ribs) are similar in modulus to the vertebral end-plates, with the potential to minimise stress shielding within the adjacent vertebrae.
- Tantalum markers, located on the end plates superiorly and inferiorly, allow for X-ray visualisation and optimal implant positioning is facilitated by the Surgeon-designed user friendly instrumentation.
About Lumbar Artificial Disc
Artificial disc replacement (ADR) is newer type of spinal disc procedure that utilizes an anterior (front – through the abdominal region) approach to replace a painful, arthritic, worn-out intervertebral disc of the lumbar spine with a metal and plastic prosthesis (artificial disc). Artificial disc replacement is primarily considered for patients with isolated 1-level (one disc only) degenerative disc disease. Prior to the development of ADR, spinal fusion was the principal treatment for painful degenerative disc disease that failed to improve with nonoperative management. ADR is generally NOT recommended for patients with spinal fractures, instability, neurologic compression, or multiple level degenerative disc disease – spinal fusion remains the treatment of choice for these conditions. The advantages of ADR include a faster recovery time than spinal fusion and preserved motion at the disc level. The theoretical long-term advantage of ADR, which remains unproven, is the possibility of decreased adjacent level stress and arthritis compared with spinal fusion.
About Ranier Technology
Ranier Technology, located in Cambridge, UK, is a medical device developer utilising its proprietary Precision Polyurethane Manufacturing (PPM) technology to bring next generation, motion preservation spinal implants to clinical use. Ranier Technology has been dissolved.