The FlexiCore Lumbar Intervertebral Disc. Replacement (Stryker Spine, Allendale, NJ) represents a metal- on-metal device. This is a metal-on-metal bearing surface of chromium cobalt. It is a 13mm balland-socket joint, which places the stationary center of rotation centrally between the endplates.
In 2004, Stryker Corp. (Kalamazoo, MI) announced its plans to buy SpineCore, an emerging spine-technology company located in Summit, NJ. The company was developing two potentially significant products. One, FlexiCore, was a lumbar artificial disk. The other, CerviCore,was a cervical artificial disk.
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 Stryker
Stryker Corporation is a Kalamazoo, Michigan based medical equipment firm which develops and produces medical implants,,surgical and imaging technologies, as well as patient handling and emergency medical equipment.
Stryker’s history is rooted in innovation. When Dr. Homer Stryker, an orthopaedic surgeon from Kalamazoo, Michigan, found that certain medical products were not meeting his patients’ needs, he invented new ones. As interest in these products grew, Dr. Stryker started a company in 1941 to produce them. The company’s goal was to help patients lead healthier, more active lives through products and services that make surgery and recovery simpler, faster and more effective.
Today, Stryker is a global leader in the medical technology industry. Company growth is based on an unparalleled variety of high-quality, innovative products and services that create cost-effective solutions and improve people’s lives – which we achieve through the dedication of our over 25,000 employees globally in 2013. http://www.stryker.com