The orthopedic device giant said the Monterey AL is the latest addition to its 3D-printed interbody device portfolio. Stryker has 20 years of experience creating porous materials using 3D printing. Its proprietary AMagine process uses additive manufacturing to create implants. Stryker in August announced the official opening of a 156,000-square-foot 3D printing facility in County Cork, Ireland, that will bring 600 jobs to the area.
Monterey AL includes both solid and porous structures. It uses Stryker’s proprietary Tritanium in-growth technology. Tritanium is a material that mimics cancellous bone to provide an environment favorable to bone regeneration and fusion. Stryker says it has new research data backing the material. According to the company, data showed that undifferentiated stem cells grown on Tritanium exhibited osteogenic alkaline phosphatase. There was no need for growth factor supplements.
“No one understands 3D-printing like Stryker – the fact that they’ve been able to dial in the right mix of small, medium, and large pores in a reproducibly randomized matrix is incredible,” said Dr.Bala Giri, president and founder of the Texas Neuro Spine Institute.
“Their growing body of pre-clinical data, specifically the cellular findings published most recently, makes my decision to go with these products very straightforward. Our goal with any implant is spinal fusion, and Stryker has taken a very intentional approach to designing the Tritanium cages with this goal in mind,” Giri said in a news release.
More about Stryker’s Monterey AL interbody system
On top of its use of Tritanium, Monterey AL interbody’s potentially positive features include functionally optimized footprint options. The cage footprints are strategically deeper and narrower, according to Stryker. They enable surgeons to create indirect decompression by distracting the disc space posteriorly. The Monterey Al’s creators designed geometries to help prevent the cage from impinging posteriorly into the neural foramen. There is also less of a need to countersink the cage. In addition, the unique geometries allow surgeons easy access to the anterior screw holes.
Stryker said it also designed the instruments to be straightforward. According to the company, there’s a robust medial attachment, multiple technique possibilities, and a wide variety of screwdriver options. The goal was to facilitate easy access to the surgical site once the approach is complete and a retractor is in place.
“This is an exciting time for our division, as we continue to build momentum and expand our portfolio to bring new technology to our surgeon customers,” said Robbie Robinson, president of the company’s Spine division.
“One of our goals as a medical technology company and an implant manufacturer is to complement clear visualization and easy access with intuitive instruments and biologically inspired implant designs,” Robinson said. “Monterey AL combines more than 20 years of expertise in the creation of porous materials using additive manufacturing with innovative implants and instruments that are designed to give surgeons the flexibility to use our system without having to alter their preferred technique.”
