ECA Medical Unveils New Surgical Kits

ECA Medical Instruments, designer of single-procedure, torque-limiting surgical instruments and kits, has introduced new instruments kits for securing orthopedic implants. The Model 900 series of surgical kits are designed to provide the consistently accurate torque needed to secure implant screws, fasteners, and connectors, and to reduce per-procedure costs with the elimination of recurring operational overhead to support reusable instruments, the company claims.

The Model 900 series includes three single-procedure surgical kit configurations for general orthopedic reconstructive surgery, small bone and trauma procedures, and for spine implants. Each kit includes several torque-limiting and fixed-driver instruments that ECA maintains are regularly used by surgeons to fix and secure implants in patients. Orthopedic implants use a variety of plates, braces, brackets and rods that need to be secured by precision torqueing of fasteners and connectors.

“The Model 900 series of surgical kits were created in response to industry demand by surgeons and hospitals for precision and low-cost torque instruments to drive out costs and guarantee accurate torque for the complete range of orthopedic procedures,” said John Nino, ECA’s president and CEO. “Current torque devices can fall out of calibration. They require regular factory checks and re-calibration, and require costly and meticulous cleaning and re-sterilization after each procedure. In contrast, ECA’s disposable instruments and kits are factory set and precise each time, come sterile packed ready for use in the operating room with the intended implant and can be recycled after use.”

According to ECA officials, the savings Model 900 instruments can generate could potentially reach more than $400 per procedure. Because there are more than 3 million orthopedic implant procedures performed in the United States annually, this potentially could save the industry more than $1 billion per year, according to the company’s figures. Disposable torque-limiting surgical kits reportedly reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infection and allow more efficient use of hospital operating rooms.

The Model 900 series surgical instruments are made of engineered polymers and surgical stainless steel materials. They are designed and manufactured in the United States and in Class 7 clean rooms. According to ECA, the kits can be used for hip, knee, shoulder, cranio-maxillofacial, spinal fusion, and small bone and trauma implants such as clavicle, hands, and feet. The kits include torque instruments ranging from one pound per inch to more than 90 pounds per inch for securing knee and hip implants.

Based in Newbury Park, Calif., ECA Medical Instruments provides torque-limiting instruments and kits to cardiac rhythm management, neuromodulation, cardiovascular, and orthopedic device companies.