BioMedical Enterprises Releases Nitinol Bone Fixation Implant for Bunion Deformities

San Antonio, Texas-based BioMedical Enterprises Inc. (BME) has launched the Speed Triad nitinol bone fixation implant, a superelastic shape-memory bone fixation system designed with three legs for stable, six-point fixation, in the United States. The Speed Triad’s is designed to gives surgeons a fast, simple and reproducible way to achieve continuous compressive fixation of osteotomies performed to address mild to moderate bunion deformities.

To treat bunions, surgeons traditionally make a V-shaped cut (an osteotomy) across the first metatarsal head, allowing the head to slide laterally. This results in a straightening of the first metatarsal bone. Traditional fixation for this procedure is the placement of one or two screws across the osteotomy. The downsides of this procedure can include complications such as dorsal bone fractures or screws backing out. Repetitive loading of the osteotomy site can also compromise fixation.

The Speed Triad implant, BME’s newest addition to the Speed product line is designed with a bowing bridge and a converging proximal leg that provides compression along the long axis of the bone segments. Nitinol, a nickel titanium alloy, has shape-memory properties, which make it a valuable implant material. Unlike screws, the Speed Triad features fixation recovery, defined by the company as its ability to maintain compression through repetitive loading. The new Speed Triad is available in multiple configurations, for both medial and dorsal placement along the distal first metatarsal.

The Speed Triad implant comes ready-to-use on a pre-loaded insertion tool. The Speed Triad uses pre-sterilized, fully disposable instrumentation for exceptional efficiencies in the operating room.

“The Speed Triad implant is challenging the status quo,” stated Kent Ellington, M.D., attending orthopedic foot and ankle surgeon, OrthoCarolina, in Charlotte N.C.. “I have been using Speed Triad in patients with mild to moderate hallux valgus for several months. Using the Triad definitely saves me time in the OR, and the clinical results have been consistent, regardless of which placement or configuration of the implant I’ve used. In cases that I’ve used Triad, I’ve been able to expedite the patient’s return to function without complication. Without question, this is an innovation that was long overdue.”

“The Speed Triad, in combination with the Speed Arc, is part of the most comprehensive Nitinol Fixation System to successfully address the problem of bunion fixation,” said Keith M. Peeples, president and CEO of BME. “We continue to raise the bar for cutting-edge, effective, and simple fixation solutions for extremity surgeons. This is BME’s fourth successful new product introduction this past year, thanks to the effort of our advisors and the entire BME team.”