Artificial Disk Meets Reimbursement Resistance 3787

Originally Published MX March/April 2005

BUSINESS NEWS

When FDA approved the Charité artificial disk last October, some industry analysts speculated that the device could experience a rapid rate of adoption similar to those experienced by new joint-replacement technologies or drug-eluting coronary stents. To clinch their case, the experts cited pent-up demand for the device, which has been available to patients around the world for more than 17 years; the incidence of 200,000 spinal fusion surgeries performed each year in the United States; and the estimated $50 billion spent annually to treat back pain.