MEMPHIS, TENN. – October 8, 2012 – Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced it has initiated the commercial introduction in the United States of the ACD Instrument Set, a brand new set of instruments that can be used to insert the clinically proven BRYANR Cervical Disc. The BRYANR Disc was FDA approved in 2009 for the treatment of single-level cervical disc disease (radiculopathy and/or myelopathy), one of the most common diagnoses for neck and arm pain. The announcement was made at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois.
“The new ACD Instrument Set allows surgeons to implant the clinically proven BRYANR Disc using the same basic surgical steps taught in anterior cervical surgery for over 50 years with excellent success rates,” said Rick Sasso, M.D., of the Indiana Spine Group. “The original instrument set for the BRYANR Disc requires specialized instruments that must be assembled and mounted to the operating room table during surgery, a much different technique than I learned in my fellowship training,” added Sasso.
The BRYANR Disc is one of two clinically proven artificial cervical discs in the Medtronic portfolio. More than 20,000 BRYANR Disc implants have been sold worldwide since January 2000 when the first surgery was performed in Europe using the original instrument set that was developed by Seattle neurosurgeon, Dr. Vincent Bryan.
“We are the only company with two clinically proven artificial cervical discs in its portfolio, both with different designs and made of different materials, in order to accommodate surgeon preference,” says Doug King, senior vice president and president of Medtronic’s Spinal business. “We are very excited to provide this enhanced instrument set and motion device to physicians seeking to offer their patients an alternative to fusion,” said King.The BRYANR Cervical Disc System incorporates technology developed by Gary K. Michelson, M.D.