Inside Orthopedics: Hot Startups in Orthopedics *just my opinion*

Brought to you by Tiger Buford. Hello, ortho world! Welcome to Inside Orthopedics. My name is Tiger. I'm an orthopedic insider and retained recruiter for great little orthopedic companies. You may be driving, traveling, working out, or sitting at home. Thanks for listening. This is episode number 2. The topic is 12 hot startups that I see and believe in, in orthopedics. So I'll get right into it. I get asked all the time, what are the hot startups that I see in orthopedics right now? People ask me every week. Orthopedic startups have come and gone for decades, and, and there's always a flow of new startups. I have a good eye for seeing ones that I think are positioned for big disruption and success. This skill served me well in joining Ellipse Technologies just before it took off in 2012. You may not always agree with me, but this is how I see things kind of in orthopedics. So I'm going to go through 12 orthopedic startups that I believe are innovating, thinking big, and taking chances. And this is all my opinion. I'm not being paid by any of these. I just report what I see. So let's get into it. So number 1 is TrackPatch. TrackPatch is based in Sacramento. The category is smart devices. TrackPatch is actually a startup within an established orthopedic company, Consensus Orthopedics, and they've been making total joints for over 20 years. Consensus, I have to give them kudos for thinking outside the box. On how to improve total joint outcomes. TrackPatch is a revolutionary device empowering at-home patient recovery and remote monitoring for effective managed care. With a focus on evidence-based medicine, TrackPatch is really changing patient care and the future of orthopedics. And the amazing thing about this, it was completely conceived inside a, a total hip and knee company. So you can go to trackpatch.com to— and that's T-R-A-C-P-A-T-C-H dot com— for more information. Number 2 is Trice Medical in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and this category is joint diagnostics. So Trice, I've been watching for a long time. They have a greatly disruptive product It's an instant MRI in the doctor's office for $450. Patients get an instant diagnosis with a needle, scope of the joint, and an ultrasound of the joint dynamically while the patient's awake and the doctor's talking to the patient. They're just getting started. Their second generation, MyEye, is working tremendously. They just launched a MyEye Ultra for ultrasound. These guys raised $18 million in Series B, and they held their first ever national sales meeting actually last year in 2017. They've got the CPT codes. Watch out for Trice. I've written about it on Orthostreams. You can go read more about them at Trice, T-R-I-C-E, medical.com. Number 3 that I'm looking at is Augmedix in Israel, and this category is spine and virtual reality and augmented reality. Augmedix was founded in 2014. They created an augmented reality surgical technology that overlays spinal information on the spine of the patient through a headset to the spine surgeon. They call it see-through surgery. The system is called X-Vision. Uh, the AR display combines the digital and physical worlds to effectively allow surgeons to look underneath spinal patient's skin. It's the closest thing that you will be able to find to an x-ray vision in the real world. A lot like Accuvane systems, Augmedics X-Vision allows users to view the anatomy of a patient without incisions, which enables them to perform more procedures externally or through minimally invasive techniques. So this is one to watch. I would stay close to Augmedics. They're Israeli companies who are great at doing a lot with very little funding. Look for them to partner with somebody soon in the future. Number 4 is IntoBones Global. That's I-N, the number 2, Bones, INDA Bones Global. The category is extremities. They're in Memphis, Tennessee. INDA Bones is really on fire. They started in late 2016. The company completed a consolidation merger with its French subsidiary, INDA Bones SAS in Lyon, to form INDA Bones Global headquartered in Memphis. Since the merger, the company has launched several innovative products including NeoView Peak Distal Radius Plates, NeoSpan Super Elastic Compression Staples, the Reference Toe System, AlloAid PIP, AlloAid Nail, CoLink, 4-foot plating system, 5MS, Fifth Metatarsal Fracture Repair, Coleg compression screws. The Coleg system represents an entirely new concept in orthopedic bone fixation. Almost nothing has happened in orthopedic screw design in the last 25 years. The Coleg screw has a compressive stability feature which highlights a true game-changing in, in design. As is true with all Endobone implants, the Colex screw is provided sterile packed, UDI compliant and traceable. Endobone is growing and advancing science within the extremity market and they're one to watch. More at the website i2b-usa.com. A hot company in extremities. Number 5, love these guys, Active Protective, based in Philadelphia area. The category is trauma. Active Protective is trying to solve the coming epidemic of fragility fractures as baby boomers move into their 8th decade. As many people know, when an elderly person falls They often break their hips, and statistically, 1 in 4 is dead within 12 months. It's really an epidemic as, as the baby boomers move on. AP has developed a wearable belt that deploys an airbag when the fall is detected to help prevent hip fractures in these older adults. They're focused on a consumer play. And in the personal safety category, the translation there is no FDA needed. This is a huge market, a small team. They recently closed over $2 million in seed and a Series A round. They're doing their first pilots right now. These guys are one to watch. The website is active. Protective.com. Number 6 to watch, Enhatch, uh, E-N-H-A-T-C-H. They're based in Hoboken, New Jersey. The category is software. Enhatch is developing AI for the medical device industry focused on improving planning, logistics, and education. Amazingly, their system can actually predict implant sizing from plain 2D x-rays. From the website, quote, at Enhatch, we are building a platform for the enterprise to build better, stronger relationships with their customers that starts before the very first pitch. What you're seeing is a complex product like medical devices, jet engines, or the like There are hundreds of touchpoints with a potential customer before they decide to buy. Many of those interactions are supported by employees who do not have the word sales in their title. Enhatch has the technology to speed up your sales cycle and close more deals by making every employee an advocate for the customer. End quote. In 2015, Enhatch acquired Surgisoft. The most advanced medical device inventory management, uh, solution in the industry. Since then, NHATCH has built the industry's most comprehensive patient-driven technology platform, enabling device manufacturers and sales teams to easily access the most relevant education materials, patient-specific planning software, inventory controls, sales management tools, and financial reporting. To learn more, go to nhatch.com. Number 7: ReJoint. This is a brand new startup in Milan, Italy. The category is total joints. So ReJoint is an entrepreneurial group that is really changing the status quo. This, this is the first startup to bring together all of the latest technologies for a better total knee product and service. ReJoint is pulling together artificial intelligence, 3D printing, and wearables at the same time. They've actually partnered with NHATCH that I mentioned before for the fit-to-kit algorithm. ReJoint has a library of literally thousands of sizes for each patient. Any combination of lateral medial geometries. But in the end, only one perfect fit implant is built and shipped to the surgery. Think about in your head no overhang or underhang for femoral condyles or tibial plateau for the first time ever. First-in-man surgeries are scheduled for early 2019. Number 8, The Next Step Companies, based in Akron, Ohio. The category is probably total joints here. So Randy Taken, known as the founder of Taken Spine, is a young serial entrepreneur that you just have to take seriously. He has gone all in on additive manufacturing or 3D printing. He's created 3 complementary companies: NextStep Orthopedics, NextStep Ideas, and Slice Manufacturing Studios that will all deliver disruptive 3D printing technology in total joints. Randy boldly claims on his site that within 5 years I intend to be able to make the claim Nextstep is the largest medical device manufacturer producing implant devices using 3D printing technology. So pretty amazing statement. He's still pretty stealthy right now. Stay tuned. There's— for more insight, you can just go to Orthostreams and and search for Randy Theken, T-H-E-K-E-N, or go to his website, Theken.us, T-H-E-K-E-N.us. Number 9, SciMedica Orthopedics, based in Phoenix, Arizona. The category is sports medicine. So SciMedica is converging two technologies in sports medicine. Think about a knee brace plus muscle stimulation in a convenient app-controlled muscle activation. These guys just closed $6 million and have a fresh 510. Their eVive system provides wireless app-controlled muscle stimulation therapy, individualized for each patient's control and convenience. eVibe helps patients stay engaged with their rehab by tracking progress and allowing data sharing with clinicians. This is the future, really, for sports medicine. So for more information, go to cymedicaortho.com, and that's C-Y-M-E-D-I-C-A medicaortho.com. Number 10, Orthospace, based in Israel. This is sports medicine again. There are few good options for patients with massive rotator cuff tears. This is where Orthospace plays. They have ingeniously created a biodegradable balloon that acts as a spacer or a bursa between the acromion and the humeral head. It's called an InSpace balloon. This InSpace balloon is implanted. It creates a physical barrier between the tissues and the subacromial space. It's a low invasive procedure. Just takes a few minutes and it will resorb over time. Orthospace raised $7 million. They're selling in Europe and they are enrolling in a U.S. clinical study. This could be the new solution for a lot of rotator cuff problems. Go to Orthostreams and just search for Orthospace for more information. Number 11, Treece Medical. Pontevedra Beach, Florida. The category is extremities. Uh, Trese has a bunion. So bunion deformity surgery has always had a bad rap. Um, given the vast majority of surgical treatments are just metatarsal osteotomies with published recurrence rates as high as 78%, It's not hard to see why bunion deformity surgery has a bad rap. Uh, while osteotomies by nature address only the symptom of the bunion, Trese Medical has developed a game-changing surgical treatment called a Lapiplasty procedure designed to reproducibly correct the multi-plane bunion deformity at its root cause. Think 3D solution to a— instead of a 2D solution. The company believes that Lapiplasty® will change the negative stigma of bunion surgery by dramatically reducing recurrence rates and improving the mechanics and function of the affected toe. Over the past year, the Lapiplasty® procedure has gained rapid clinical adoption and was recently awarded a broad method patent. It's a large neglected market, a disruptive therapy, plus an A-list board of directors that has a track record for home runs. This one is really on my radar. Watch Treatz Medical closely. Um, you can go to Orthostreams to learn more. And finally, number 12. Green Sun Medical, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, category is spine. There's really a special place for companies that provide solutions for kids with scoliosis. Green Sun has developed a smart brace for scoliosis for children. The goal is to reverse the scoly forces as the kid grows and have a more comfortable brace the kids will actually wear and avoid surgery. They're currently in trials. There's a lot of smart software built into this brace, and this is one to watch. So that's it. That's all 12 that I have my eye on today. You can follow me on Orthostreams or Twitter @tigerbuford. Don't forget to subscribe. Be safe out there.