Surgeons have performed more than 50,000 surgeries using the Spinal Kinetics M6-C and M-6-L cervical and lumbar discs.
Here are four things to know:
1. Spinal Kinetics launched the M6-C in 2006 and M6-L in 2010, both designed to mimic the natural disc. The company completed enrollment for the M6-C IDE study and plans to submit the pre-market approval application to the FDA this year.
2. The discs are designed for patients with degenerative disc disease as an alternative to spinal fusion.
3. The artificial discs have an artificial visco-elastic nucleus and fiber annulus to absorb shock at the implanted level and control the spine's range of motion.
4. Spinal Kinetics is a privately held company founded in 2003. "We are extremely proud as an organization to reach the 50,000 implant level and are appreciative of the spine surgeon community in adopting the M6 technology," said President and CEO Tom Afzal.