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We’re revolutionize the standard of care for personalized spine surgery using data science and AI so all spine surgeons can provide predictable and reproducible patient outcomes.
DOWNLOAD DATAPowered by data aggregation of thousands of spinal procedures, the plan, execute, analyze process creates an iterative virtuous cycle that improves with each procedure. Choose the confidence of data and the convenience of custom alignment to your OR.
Through the power of data collection and machine learning, a unique capability is created, allowing for a continuous cycle of improvement.
Achieving harmonious alignment of key spinopelvic parameters, such as the sagittal vertical axis (SVA), pelvic incidence/lumbar lordosis mismatch (PI-LL), and pelvic tilt (PT), is a key goal of spinal deformity surgery.1, 2
Patients possessing postoperative spinopelvic parameters within normative ranges exhibit improved patient outcomes scores.1, 2
One of the risks of not achieving optimal alignment is revision spinal surgery.3
Key Clinical Issues | UNiD™ Clinical Results |
---|---|
62% of patients remained sagittally malaligned after surgery.4 Sagittal re-alignment and clinical outcomes are directly linked.1 |
|
10x greater risk of developing adjacent segment disease when postoperative ∆PI-LL ≥10° for 1 to 3 level degenerative constructs.6 |
|
Kuris et al compared a series of 50 degenerative UNiD™ rod patients to 578 patients from Leveque et al on the percentage of patients whose alignment improved, worsened, or stayed the same.7
In Solla et al, 17 hypokyphotic (<20 degrees) and 20 normal kyphosis AIS patients were treated with UNiD™ rods:8
Parameters | Overall cohort n = 37 | H group n = 17 | N group n = 20 | p value (H vs. N) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Overall kyphosis before surgery |
20 (1 to 46) |
11 (1 to 19) |
30 (20 to 46) |
<0.0001 |
Planned overall kyphosis |
37 (27 to 44) |
37 (28 to 44) |
37 (27 to 43) |
0.51 |
Overall kyphosis at last follow-up |
35 (25 to 56) |
32 (25 to 39) |
38 (27 to 56) |
0.001 |
p value (overall kyphosis before surgery vs. at last follow-up) |
<0.001 |
<0.0001 |
0.002 |
In a study of 60 UNiD™ rod patients, Branche et al analyzed how the radius of curvature of patient-specific rods differed between patients and at different levels.9
The rods were highly personalized, with standard deviations of 40-53% from the average curves.
For constructs above (cranial) and below (caudal) L4/L5, the rods had two distinct curves to account for greater lordosis below L4/L5.
|
1 ROC |
2 ROC |
|
---|---|---|---|
Portion of rod |
N/A |
Cranial |
Caudal |
Average curvature, mm |
59 |
105 |
68 |
Standard deviation |
23.7 |
55.9 |
28.5 |
LIV – lower instrumented vertebra
N/A – not available
ROC – radii of curvature
UIV – upper instrumented vertebra
Lee et al analyzed 20 adult deformity cases, instrumented from T10 or T11 to the pelvis, to determine the ability of UNiD™ Adaptive Spine Intelligence to predict postoperative pelvic tilt and thoracic kyphosis in un-instrumented regions of the spine.10
Postoperative | Predicted | p | |
---|---|---|---|
TK (T4-T12), deg |
38.3 (9.5) |
37.6 (10.2) |
.847 |
Uninstrumented TK, deg |
29.8 (9.6) |
33.9 (9.8) |
.188 |
Pelvic tilt, deg |
22.7 (8.7) |
23.4 (7.1) |
.754 |
These findings suggest that surgeons could use this technology to consider the risk of proximal junctional kyphosis in adult deformity patients.
In Sardi et al, ten experienced surgeons were asked to contour rods using a French Bender to 40, 60, and 80 degrees.11
Without a template, surgeons overbent by a mean of 17.5 to 20.2 degrees for each desired angle, but with a template, they came within an average of two degrees of their target angle.
In adult deformity cases (> 5 levels) at least one year after surgery, UNiD Rods had a fracture rate of 10/453 patients, or 2.2%. In a subset of International Spine Study Group (ISSG) data with the same parameters, 18/200 (9.0%) of adult deformity patients experienced rod fractures.12, 13
When patients from the same two studies underwent a pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) in the procedure, the rate is reduced by 79%, an improvement over the 22.0% rod fracture rate associated with procedures involving a PSO.12, 13
Risks associated with these spinal implants include loosening, disassembly, bending, and/or breakage of components. A successful result is not always achieved in every surgical case. This fact is especially true in spinal surgery where many extenuating circumstances may compromise the results.
Glassman SD, Bridwell K, Dimar JR, Horton W, Berven S and Schwab F, The Impact of Positive Sagittal Balance in Adult Spinal Deformity. Spine. 2005.
Glassman SD, Berven S, Bridwell K, Horton W, Dimar JR. Correlation of radiographic parameters and clinical symptoms in adult scoliosis. Spine. 2005 Mar 15;30(6):682-8.
Jang J-S, Lee S-H, Min J-H, Kim SK, Han K-M, Maen DH. Surgical treatment of failed back surgery syndrome due to sagittal imbalance. Spine (Phila. Pa. 1976). 2007.
Moal B, Schwab F, Ames CP, et al. Radiographic Outcomes of Adult Spinal Deformity Correction: A Critical Analysis of Variability and Failures Across Deformity Patterns. Spine Deform. 2014.
Cameron Barton BA, Andriy Noshchenko PhD, Vikas Patel MD, Christopher Kleck MD, Evalina Burger MD. Early Experience and Initial Outcomes with Patient Specific Spine Rods for Adult Spinal Deformity (ASD). Orthopedics. 2016; 39(2):79-86.
Rothenfluh DA, Mueller DA, et al. Pelvic incidence lumbar lordosis mismatch predisposes to adjacent segment disease after lumbar spinal fusion. Eur Spine J (2015) 24:1251-1258.
Kuris, Eren, et al. “Analysis of Radiographic Parameters Reveals Differences in Outcomes When Comparing Patient-Specific Short Rod Constructs to Conventional Rods in Lumbar Fusions for Degenerative Disease.” International Meeting on Advanced Spine Technologies. 2020.
Solla, Federico, et al. "Patient-specific rods for thoracic kyphosis correction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery: preliminary results." Orthopaedics & Traumatology: Surgery & Research 106.1 (2020): 159-165.
Branche, Katherine, et al. "Radius of Curvature in Patient-Specific Short Rod Constructs Versus Standard Pre-Bent Rods." International Journal of Spine Surgery. 2020.
Lee, Nathan J., et al. "Can Machine Learning Accurately Predict Postoperative Compensation for the Uninstrumented Thoracic Spine and Pelvis After Fusion From the Lower Thoracic Spine to the Sacrum?." Global Spine Journal (2020).
Sardi, Juan Pablo, et al. "Accuracy of Rod Contouring to Desired Angles With and Without a Template: Implications for Achieving Desired Spinal Alignment and Outcomes." Global Spine Journal (2021).
V. Fiere, S. Fuentes, E. Burger, T. Raabe, P. Passias, et al. Patient-Specific Rods show a reduction in rod breakage incidence. Medicrea Whitepaper. October 2017.
Smith JS, Shaffrey CI, Klineberg E, et al. Prospective multicenter assessment of risk factors for rod fracture following surgery for adult spinal deformity. J Neurosurg Spine 21:994–1003, 2014.