NuVasive saw key milestones for its spine technologies in the third quarter, according to a Nov. 9 earnings call.
Four notes:
1. In the third quarter, NuVasive saw more net sales from its cervical spine portfolio than any other quarter in its history, CEO Chris Barry said, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
2. NuVasive's Pulse spine platform was used in its first case at an ASC and for the first time in Australia during the third quarter, Mr. Barry said.
3. The company is honing in on "intelligent surgery" and extending the capabilities of the Pulse platform:
"Unlike other orthopedic segments, the spine industry has been challenged to drive clinical standardization due to the variability in outcomes," Mr. Barry said. "Outcomes will improve when clinical decisions are fact based and not subjective, and enabling technology supports this focused effort. To achieve better outcomes, we must help surgeons identify whether a patient is an appropriate surgical candidate, what the right procedure is for the patient, will it lead to the patient's desired outcome, and whether the surgeon achieved that intended outcome. To do so, we need to provide data and advanced planning preoperatively."
4. NuVasive continued outpacing the global spine market and saw an increase in procedure volumes in the third quarter, Mr. Barry said. Low-acuity thoracolumbar and cervical procedures saw a significant increase, while higher acuity cases haven't rebounded as fast.