DePuy Spine Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, has launched a new minimally invasive spine system called the VIPER™2 Pedicle Screw Fixation System (VIPER2). The system offers comprehensive instrumentation and implant options that can be used on a wide range of spinal pathologies including deformity, trauma, tumor and degenerative disc disease. VIPER2 is the first and only complete minimally invasive rod and pedicle screw system that can be used to perform minimally invasive spinal fixation across the length of the entire thoracolumbar spine (T1 to Pelvis), with rods of any curvature and lengths from 30 to 480 mm.

Surgeons are using custom-made, FDA-approved device, STARband, to begin the cranial shaping process of children below 18 months of age diagnosed with craniosynostosis. Craniosynostosis is a condition that leads to premature fusion of the cranial sutures, or fontanels, causing problems with normal brain and skull growth, which can result in developmental delays, visual impairment and misaligned ears, eyes, and jaws. Orthomerica Products Inc.’s STARband helmets, which are worn 23 hours daily for three to six months, channel head growth by applying constant and gentle pressure on raised areas of the head, while leaving room for growth in depressed areas.