NASS News: 4WEB Demonstrates Increased Subsidence Resistance for Lateral Spine Truss System

4WEB Medical, developer of 3D printed implant technology, announced the results of a new study demonstrating reduced subsidence for its Lateral Spine Truss System (LSTS) as compared to annular interbody implant designs today at the annual meeting of the North American Spine Society. The study was led by Vijay Goel, Ph.D. at the University of Toledo, one of the country’s foremost orthopedic biomechanics institutes.
 
“Our biomechanical testing showed the 4WEB 18mm wide, 40mm long LSTS implant performed better in resisting subsidence than the competitive 21mm wide, 60mm long annular design lateral device.  This finding was consistent across all density foam blocks tested.   These results are indicative of the optimized load distribution that is inherent to the 4WEB truss implant technology,” said Vijay Goel, Ph.D. at the University of Toledo.
 
4WEB’s proprietary open architecture truss design increases endplate to implant contact maximizing resistance to subsidence.  The additive manufacturing process for truss technology provides a hierarchal surface roughness spanning from the nano to macro scale which may contribute to stimulating an osteogenic response.
 
Tony Tannoury, MD, Director of Spine at Boston Medical Center, Boston University said, “Subsidence is a clinically documented occurrence in lateral fusion procedures with higher incidences being found among smaller footprint implants. This research allows me to confidently conduct minimally invasive lateral access surgery and match the correct size implant to the patient anatomy with less concern of the cage subsiding.  The results of this study are particularly important for high risk patients with low bone density.”
 
4WEB Medical is an implant device company founded in 2008 in Dallas, Texas. Thirty years of research in topological dimension theory led to the discovery of a novel geometry, the 4WEB, that can be used as a building block to create high-strength, lightweight web structures. The company leveraged this breakthrough along with cutting-edge 3D printing technology to develop 4WEB Medical’s proprietary truss implant platform. The 4WEB Medical product portfolio for spine includes the Cervical Spine Truss System, the Anterior Spine Truss System, the Posterior Spine Truss System, and the Lateral Spine Truss System. 4WEB is actively developing truss implant designs for knee, hip, trauma and patient specific orthopedic procedures.