This prosthesis is a semi-constrained ball and socket, metal-onmetal device with a posterior centre of rotation which matches that of the disc segment. The first implantation of Maverick prosthesis was in January 2002.
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 Medtronic
Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT), based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is theworld’s largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.Medtronic was founded in 1949 in a garage in northeast Minneapolis by Earl Bakken and his brother-in-law Palmer Hermundslie as a medical equipment repair shop. They originally wanted to sell basketball pumps due to a shortage in the Midwest in the 20th century. Bakken began as a graduate student in electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota before he gave up his studies to focus on Medtronic.Through their repair business, Bakken came to know C. Walton Lillehei, a pioneer in the field of heart surgery then at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Lillehei was frustrated with the pacemakers of the day, which were quite large, applied electrical current externally (requiring higher voltages), and had to be plugged in to a wall outlet to operate. The deficiencies of such pacemakers were made painfully obvious following a power outage over Halloween in 1957 which affected large sections of Minnesota and western Wisconsin.As a direct result of this blackout, a pediatric patient of Dr. Lillehei who was pacemaker-dependent died. The next day, Lillehei spoke with Bakken about developing some form of battery-powered pacemaker. Stemming from this need, Bakken modified a design for a transistorized metronome to create the first battery-powered external artificial pacemaker.The company expanded through the 1950s, mostly selling equipment built by other companies, but also developing some custom devices. Bakken built a small transistorized pacemaker that could be strapped to the body and powered by batteries. Work into this new field continued, producing an implantable pacemaker in 1960. Medtronic’s main competitors in the cardiac rhythm field includeStryker Corporation, Boston Scientific and St. Jude Medical.Spinal and Biologics is Medtronic’s second largest business, and Medtronic is the world leader in spinal and musculoskeletal therapies. In 2007, Medtronic purchased Kyphon, a manufacturer and seller of spinal implants necessary for procedures like kyphoplasty.In May, 2008, Medtronic Spine agreed to pay the U.S. government $75 million to settle a qui tam (whistleblower) lawsuit alleging that Medtronic committed Medicare fraud. The company was charged with illegally convincing healthcare providers to offer kryphoplasty, a spinal fracture repair surgery, as an inpatient rather than outpatient procedure, thereby making thousands more in profits per surgery. http://www.medtronic.com