Spinal stenosis of lumbar region

Portage, Michigan, Oct. 01, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Stryker (NYSE: SYK) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of Vertos Medical Inc., a leader in interventional pain management solutions for chronic lower back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis. “The acquisition of Vertos Medical enhances our unique, non-surgical solutions for interventionalists addressing chronic lower back pain, while broadening our presence in ambulatory surgery centers,” said Andy Pierce, Group President, MedSurg and Neurotechnology, Stryker. “We look forward to enabling physicians with the minimally invasive mild ® procedure so patients can reclaim their quality of life.” The addition of Vertos Medical’s differentiated portfolio will strengthen Stryker’s impact in interventional solutions to address chronic pain. About Stryker Stryker is a global leader in medical technologies and, together with its customers, is driven to make healthcare better. The company offers innovative products and services in MedSurg, Neurotechnology, Orthopaedics and Spine that help improve patient and healthcare outcomes. Alongside its customers around the world, Stryker impacts more than 150 million patients annually. More information is available at . Media contact Beth Sizemore Sr. Director, Strategic Communications beth.sizemore@stryker.com

National University Hospital unveils spine AI National University Hospital has introduced an AI tool to analyse lumbar spinal stenosis, a common indication for surgery among senior patients. According to a media release, the tool called Spine AI automatically detects areas of narrowing of spinal canal and categorises them by severity. It was trained using more than 18,000 lumbar spine MRI images of 446 patients. In a study, the technology took as fast as "47 seconds" to analyse each spine. Lumbar spinal stenosis is a condition in which the spinal canal narrows in the lower back and compresses the nerves and blood vessels supplying the lower limbs. Currently being evaluated across the NUHS radiology department, Spine AI was developed by NUH, together with NUS School of Computing and the National University Spine Institute. Siemens Healthineers was also tapped to help optimise the AI's user interface. NUH is said to generate around 4,00 lumbar MRI scans each year. With Spine AI automating its analysis in seven minutes per scan on average, it could deliver 466 hours in time savings per year, estimates Dr Andrew Makmur, NUHS Group CTO and a consultant of the NUH Department of Diagnostic Imaging. Korea to deploy AI to check on independent living seniors The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Comprehensive Support Center for the Elderly Living Alone will be utilising AI to connect with about 42,000 senior citizens expected to spend the upcoming Chuseok holidays alone. Chuseok is a major autumn harvest festival in the Korean peninsula. In South Korea, it is celebrated for three days. A part of the government's personalised elderly care service, the AI Call service utilises text-to-speech and speech-to-text technology to make voice calls and collect and transmit call information. Meanwhile, SK Telecom and Lotte Welfare Foundation have been tapped to provide technical assistance for the holiday call service. Thai regional hospital trials CXR AI Phrapokklao Hospital, a major regional hospital in Chanthaburi, a province south-west of Thailand's capital Bangkok, has recently implemented a chest X-ray (CXR) analysis AI to augment community screening of lung cancer. "In most Thai government hospitals, [CXRs] are interpreted by non-radiologists. However, in community hospitals, there are often no radiologists available to read CXRs at all. By overlaying specialist AI to read all cases, we can support clinicians in detecting incidental high-risk nodules that may lead to lung cancer," Dr Passakorn Wanchaijiraboon, deputy director of Phrapokklao Hospital’s Cancer Centre of Excellence, was quoted as saying. He led a recent evaluation study of the CXR solution qXR by the Indian company Qure.ai. "The implementation of CXR AI is particularly beneficial in the context of community hospitals, where it can significantly enhance diagnostic capabilities in the absence of on-site radiologists," Dr Wanchaijiraboon, who is also an oncologist, added. Early this year, Qure.ai received the US Food and Drug Administration approval for the lung nodule on the qXR range of CXR analysis solutions.

THURSDAY, Aug. 22, 2024 -- For patients with thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (T-OPLL), surgical treatment is effective for improving neurological function, quality of life (QoL), and pain management during a 10-year period, according to a study published online Aug. 5 in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery . Sadayuki Ito, M.D., Ph.D., from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, and colleagues retrospectively examined 51 patients followed for ≥10 years after posterior decompression and corrective fusion surgery for T-OPLL to assess clinical, functional, and QoL outcomes. The researchers found a significant improvement in the Japanese Orthopaedic Association score from preoperatively to two years postoperatively (3.7 to 7.9); thereafter, the score remained stable. The mean EuroQol-5 Dimension-5 Level score improved from 0.53 to 0.68 from preoperatively to 10 years postoperatively. For both back and leg pain, the numerical rating scale scores decreased from 5.4 to 3.5 and from 4.0 to 3.0, respectively, from preoperatively to 10 years postoperatively. Kyphotic angles and ossification areas changed, with no significant progression after two years. Overall, 14 patients (27.5 percent) experienced postoperative complications; eight (15.7 percent) required reoperation: six and two in the perioperative period and later, respectively. Additional surgeries for conditions including lumbar spinal canal stenosis and cervical OPLL were performed for four of the patients (7.8 percent). In all cases with postoperative complications or additional surgery, physical function remained stable over the decade. "These complications and interventions did not substantially detract from the overall QoL improvement," the authors write.