Michael Barbella, Managing Editor06.04.19
Tony Finau has learned quite a lot about himself over the past 12 months. Besides gaining new insights into his fortitude, humility, and confidence, the 29-year-old professional golfer discovered a keen sense of humor he perhaps never before realized (or cared to admit).
The latter trait was a particular surprise to Finau’s fans, considering the clever manner in which it was divulged.
Shortly before the 2019 Master’s Tournament, Nike and Finau teamed up to create a signature shoe he could wear at the year’s first major should the 6-foot, 4-inch Samoan decide to partake in another disastrous hole-in-one victory run (Finau, as golf fans will recall, injured his left ankle during last year’s Master’s celebrating an ace at the seventh hole). Debuting on April Fool’s Day, the fairway-colored, incredibly high-topped Finau1 boot came with a three-and-a-half minute “mockumentary” that poked fun at Finau and his injury.
“Not a lot of people come back from that—not the injury but the embarrassment,” Carl Madore, a Nike “footwear designer,” quips in the video. Finau adds further comic relief with lines such as, “Like any elite athlete, I had to get back in the lab and rebuild my body from ground up,” and “I thought to myself, ‘What if we designed a golf shoe for stability in my ankle? Why not?’”
“I felt like if you can’t laugh at yourself in something like that, then I think you’re doing it all wrong,” Finau told Star Tribune (Minneapolis) sports columnist Jim Souhan at the start of the Master’s. “I thought it was quite funny after the fact, celebrating a hole-in-one and ruining my ankle for a few months.”
Few in Finau’s inner circle were laughing after the mishap last spring, though. Thankfully, however, Finau sustained only soft tissue damage and some torn ligaments; he rebounded the following day to shoot a four-under-par 68 in the opening round and briefly led the tournament before slipping behind three-time major winner Jordan Spieth to tie for second place with Matthew Kuchar. He finished the contest at T10, winning $286,000.
Although Finau now makes light of his injury, ankle sprains are no laughing matter: Studies have shown such traumas can have lasting consequences, leading to joint damage, chronic instability, and ACL troubles. Sprains have become one of the most common sports injuries and demand for non-invasive, simple solutions is expected to drive the global foot and ankle treatment market over the next half decade. Other factors like rising osteoporosis rates and an aging world population also will contribute to the growth.
ODT’s May/June feature “A Little Extreme” examines the innovation being developed in this burgeoning sector (and the overall worldwide extremities market) that eventually will contribute to its solid growth over the next half decade. Steve Ek, CEO of Franklin, Mass.-based joint preservation technology provider Arthrosurface, shared his insights on the market for the story. His full input is provided in the following Q&A.
Michael Barbella: What trends/factors are currently impacting the global extremities market?
Steve Ek: I believe the extremities market now has many examples of devices that are entering the second and third generations of their designs. Therefore, I think we are starting to see more consistent and reproducible results with these devices. At the same time, patients and surgeons are starting to demand a greater level of performance and function from these devices. Where once the goal was just to mitigate pain, now I believe the expectation [not only] is the presumed elimination of pain but also the restoration of a high level of function.
Barbella: What factors are driving growth in this market? What segment is the growth most prolific—upper extremity, lower extremity, small joint (fingers, toes), etc., or is it fairly even across the board?
Ek: Each of these segments has some exciting new growth areas. The shoulder market is exciting in the sheer volume of procedures, and the continued adoption and improvement of high-performance shoulder arthroplasty devices. The hand and wrist segment is an exciting opportunity because there are still many unmet needs for patient pathologies and osteoarthritis. And of course, we remain convinced there is a large number of underserved patients who would benefit from our 1st MTP implants.
Barbella: What types of extremity solutions are popular with surgeons? Why?
Ek: Solutions that produce reproducible and consistent results. It is a critical element in the doctor patient relationship that expectations are set preoperatively and then reasonably achieved. It keeps everyone happier.
Barbella: What makes the extremity market an attractive alternative to the large joint and spine sectors? Why is this one of the fastest-growing areas of orthopedics?
Ek: My feeling is that those devices and procedures are technologically mature. It's pretty hard to improve on some of those operations. On the other hand, some of the extremities markets can still benefit from improved technologies and designs.
Barbella: What new innovations/technologies are in the works? What technologies hold the most promise for patients? For market growth?
Ek: We have been working with a partner on a very exciting new technology platform for the past couple of years and have just launched our first commercial product resulting from it. The technology allows us to process and shape allograft tissues into 3D forms that can be optimized for specific implant procedures. Every time we show this technology to surgeon design partners, we hear of new potential applications, so we are very excited.
Barbella: How does your company stay innovative in this increasingly crowded market? How do you differentiate yourself from other players in the sector?
Ek: For a company our size, it's innovate or be crushed by larger players. Innovation has always been the key to our growth, with our annual revenue usually consisting of approximately 15 percent to 20 percent growth revenue generated from the previous year's new product introductions. Our innovation model relies on staying close to surgeons and understanding where their unmet needs are or where they are disappointed with current treatment options.
Barbella: How is product development in extremities different than that in large joint or spine?
Ek: I think it is generally the same process but only tracking at a faster pace. I am also inclined to think it's a bit more fun as the field of challenges and potential solutions remains wide open.
Barbella: How is value-based healthcare and market forces like robotics, 3D printing, and computer-aided surgery impacting extremities technologies and product development?
Ek: Honestly, I think it is too early to know how many of these technologies will still be with us in five years. Clearly some of these technologies are very effective from a marketing standpoint, and some of these technologies have proven to produce better outcomes in specific surgical settings. It will be interesting to see if our healthcare system will continue to bear the cost of some of these technologies or if surgeons will revert to more time-tested older technologies based on pricing, time, or simplicity reasons.
Barbella: How do you expect the extremities market to evolve over the next half-decade?
Ek: I believe that based on the number of surgical procedures that fit under the umbrella term "extremities" there will be a large continued growth in the sector for at least the next five years. I suspect there will likely be a wave of consolidation beyond that, but I am not convinced that it will be the large ortho/recon/spine players driving the consolidation, but rather extremities-focused companies securing the space.
The latter trait was a particular surprise to Finau’s fans, considering the clever manner in which it was divulged.
Shortly before the 2019 Master’s Tournament, Nike and Finau teamed up to create a signature shoe he could wear at the year’s first major should the 6-foot, 4-inch Samoan decide to partake in another disastrous hole-in-one victory run (Finau, as golf fans will recall, injured his left ankle during last year’s Master’s celebrating an ace at the seventh hole). Debuting on April Fool’s Day, the fairway-colored, incredibly high-topped Finau1 boot came with a three-and-a-half minute “mockumentary” that poked fun at Finau and his injury.
“Not a lot of people come back from that—not the injury but the embarrassment,” Carl Madore, a Nike “footwear designer,” quips in the video. Finau adds further comic relief with lines such as, “Like any elite athlete, I had to get back in the lab and rebuild my body from ground up,” and “I thought to myself, ‘What if we designed a golf shoe for stability in my ankle? Why not?’”
“I felt like if you can’t laugh at yourself in something like that, then I think you’re doing it all wrong,” Finau told Star Tribune (Minneapolis) sports columnist Jim Souhan at the start of the Master’s. “I thought it was quite funny after the fact, celebrating a hole-in-one and ruining my ankle for a few months.”
Few in Finau’s inner circle were laughing after the mishap last spring, though. Thankfully, however, Finau sustained only soft tissue damage and some torn ligaments; he rebounded the following day to shoot a four-under-par 68 in the opening round and briefly led the tournament before slipping behind three-time major winner Jordan Spieth to tie for second place with Matthew Kuchar. He finished the contest at T10, winning $286,000.
Although Finau now makes light of his injury, ankle sprains are no laughing matter: Studies have shown such traumas can have lasting consequences, leading to joint damage, chronic instability, and ACL troubles. Sprains have become one of the most common sports injuries and demand for non-invasive, simple solutions is expected to drive the global foot and ankle treatment market over the next half decade. Other factors like rising osteoporosis rates and an aging world population also will contribute to the growth.
ODT’s May/June feature “A Little Extreme” examines the innovation being developed in this burgeoning sector (and the overall worldwide extremities market) that eventually will contribute to its solid growth over the next half decade. Steve Ek, CEO of Franklin, Mass.-based joint preservation technology provider Arthrosurface, shared his insights on the market for the story. His full input is provided in the following Q&A.
Michael Barbella: What trends/factors are currently impacting the global extremities market?
Steve Ek: I believe the extremities market now has many examples of devices that are entering the second and third generations of their designs. Therefore, I think we are starting to see more consistent and reproducible results with these devices. At the same time, patients and surgeons are starting to demand a greater level of performance and function from these devices. Where once the goal was just to mitigate pain, now I believe the expectation [not only] is the presumed elimination of pain but also the restoration of a high level of function.
Barbella: What factors are driving growth in this market? What segment is the growth most prolific—upper extremity, lower extremity, small joint (fingers, toes), etc., or is it fairly even across the board?
Ek: Each of these segments has some exciting new growth areas. The shoulder market is exciting in the sheer volume of procedures, and the continued adoption and improvement of high-performance shoulder arthroplasty devices. The hand and wrist segment is an exciting opportunity because there are still many unmet needs for patient pathologies and osteoarthritis. And of course, we remain convinced there is a large number of underserved patients who would benefit from our 1st MTP implants.
Barbella: What types of extremity solutions are popular with surgeons? Why?
Ek: Solutions that produce reproducible and consistent results. It is a critical element in the doctor patient relationship that expectations are set preoperatively and then reasonably achieved. It keeps everyone happier.
Barbella: What makes the extremity market an attractive alternative to the large joint and spine sectors? Why is this one of the fastest-growing areas of orthopedics?
Ek: My feeling is that those devices and procedures are technologically mature. It's pretty hard to improve on some of those operations. On the other hand, some of the extremities markets can still benefit from improved technologies and designs.
Barbella: What new innovations/technologies are in the works? What technologies hold the most promise for patients? For market growth?
Ek: We have been working with a partner on a very exciting new technology platform for the past couple of years and have just launched our first commercial product resulting from it. The technology allows us to process and shape allograft tissues into 3D forms that can be optimized for specific implant procedures. Every time we show this technology to surgeon design partners, we hear of new potential applications, so we are very excited.
Barbella: How does your company stay innovative in this increasingly crowded market? How do you differentiate yourself from other players in the sector?
Ek: For a company our size, it's innovate or be crushed by larger players. Innovation has always been the key to our growth, with our annual revenue usually consisting of approximately 15 percent to 20 percent growth revenue generated from the previous year's new product introductions. Our innovation model relies on staying close to surgeons and understanding where their unmet needs are or where they are disappointed with current treatment options.
Barbella: How is product development in extremities different than that in large joint or spine?
Ek: I think it is generally the same process but only tracking at a faster pace. I am also inclined to think it's a bit more fun as the field of challenges and potential solutions remains wide open.
Barbella: How is value-based healthcare and market forces like robotics, 3D printing, and computer-aided surgery impacting extremities technologies and product development?
Ek: Honestly, I think it is too early to know how many of these technologies will still be with us in five years. Clearly some of these technologies are very effective from a marketing standpoint, and some of these technologies have proven to produce better outcomes in specific surgical settings. It will be interesting to see if our healthcare system will continue to bear the cost of some of these technologies or if surgeons will revert to more time-tested older technologies based on pricing, time, or simplicity reasons.
Barbella: How do you expect the extremities market to evolve over the next half-decade?
Ek: I believe that based on the number of surgical procedures that fit under the umbrella term "extremities" there will be a large continued growth in the sector for at least the next five years. I suspect there will likely be a wave of consolidation beyond that, but I am not convinced that it will be the large ortho/recon/spine players driving the consolidation, but rather extremities-focused companies securing the space.