Dublin-based medical technology solution firm Medtronic, with offices in Littleton, announced Tuesday the launch of a long-term study on the effectiveness of a spine bone graft to treat patients of degenerative disc disease.
The first patient has been enrolled in a study at the company’s Fort Wate, Ind. location. The INFUSE Bone Graft was implanted into a patient by Drs. Kein Rahn and Robert Shugart.
The graft is intended to be used in two common spine procedures: posterolateral fusion and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion.
The active ingredient in the graft is a manufactured version of a protein in the body promoting new bone growth. The graft acts as a scaffold for the formation of new bone before it disappears over time.
According to Medtronic, the graft is used with interbody fusion devices to treat lumbar degenerative disc disease and eliminates the need to harvest bone from the patient’s body in a secondary surgical procedure.
