Globus Medical Launches AERIAL, an Expandable Interspinous Fixation Device

Globus Medical Inc., a musculoskeletal solutions company, has launched AERIAL, a minimally invasive expandable interspinous fixation system with independent locking plates. The expandable central core of AERIAL provides continuous distraction for indirect decompression and a customized patient fit. This is Globus Medical’s first expandable interspinous fixation system, adding to its expandable technology portfolio.
 
Dr. David Bomback, an orthopedic surgeon and partner at Connecticut Neck and Back Specialists, and Dr. Sumit Das, founder and neurosurgeon with Brain and Spine Neurosurgical Institute, recently performed the first AERIAL procedures at Danbury Hospital, Danbury, Conn., and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, North Providence, R.I., respectively.
 
“AERIAL is a new, minimally invasive option for patients undergoing spinal fusion who need some additional degree of stability,” said Dr. Bomback. “It is an improvement over traditional spinous process devices because AERIAL expands to fit the interspinous space of the patient’s spine. We now have the opportunity to help more patients, especially those with spinal instability from previous procedures, scoliosis, or who have poor bone quality due to age.”
 
The easy insertion and controlled expansion of AERIAL provides a simple MIS solution for interspinous fixation. Its unique independent locking plates help adapt to varying patient anatomy by optimizing spine engagement into each spinous process separately.

“The ability to expand and separately fixate to each spinous process provides a customized fit to my patients,” said Dr. Das. “AERIAL is simple, minimally invasive, and significantly different than what is on the market.”
 
The Globus Medical Expandable Technology portfolio represents a commitment to advance MIS surgery, restore sagittal balance, and improve clinical outcomes.
 
The AERIAL Interspinous Fixation is a posterior non-pedicle supplemental fixation device, intended for use at a single level in the non-cervical spine (T1-S1). It is intended for plate fixation/attachment to the spinous processes for the purpose of achieving supplemental fusion in the following conditions: degenerative disc disease (defined as back pain of discogenic origin with degeneration of the disc confirmed by history and radiographic studies), spondylolisthesis, trauma (i.e., fracture or dislocation), and/or tumor. AERIAL is intended for use with allograft or autograft bone and is not intended for stand-alone use.
 
Globus Medical Inc. is based in Audubon, Pa. The company was founded in 2003 by an experienced team of professionals with a shared vision to create products that enable surgeons to promote healing in patients with musculoskeletal disorders.