LDR to Offer Nerve-Mapping System from Sentio as Part of its Product Portfolio

Austin, Texas-based spine implant firm, LDR Holding Corp., has inked a deal with Sentio LLC to sell the latter’s nerve-mapping system. SentioMMG smart-sensors employ accelerometer technology to sensitively measure when muscle contraction occurs, as a means to alert surgeons of motor nerve location.

Sentio offers a patented nerve-location technology facilitating minimally invasive access to the spine. It is intended to locate and map motor nerve roots and their peripheral extensions originating from spinal levels C3-T1 and L2-S2.

Sentio is privately held, founded in 2007 and based in Michigan.

“LDR’s Avenue L lateral lumbar cage with VerteBridge plating technology is a spinal construct featuring a lumbar cage optimized for placement via a lateral approach and integrated plate fixation that can be inserted without requiring additional exposure,” said Sean Parker, vice president of market development for Sentio. “Adding SentioMMG to the LDR product portfolio completes the offering, makes the entire procedure highly efficient, and delivers full control to the operative surgeon.”

SentioMMG smart sensors use non-invasive accelerometer-based sensors to measure mechanomyography (MMG) activity, or the mechanical “twitch” typically associated with muscle contraction. The result is an intuitive, surgeon-directed tool for establishing safe access in a variety of surgical applications, according to the company.

SentioMMG currently is cleared for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help in locating and mapping motor nerves through the use of mechanomyographic signals and electrical stimulus of nerves. SentioMMG also has secured CE mark for use in the European Union and other markets.

“Providing safe and efficient access is a key aspect to LDR’s success in the lateral lumbar market,” commented Joe Ross, LDR’s executive vice president of global marketing. “Our partnership with Sentio addresses that need and demonstrates our dedication to bringing innovative technologies to spine surgeons and their patients. We are very excited to offer SentioMMG through our LDR sales network.”

LDR’s primary products are based on its exclusive Mobi non-fusion and VerteBridge fusion technology platforms and are designed for applications in the cervical and lumbar spine. In August 2013, LDR received approval from the FDA for the Mobi-C cervical disc replacement device, the first and only cervical disc replacement device to receive FDA approval to treat both one-level and two-level cervical disc disease.

The Avenue L lateral lumbar cage is cleared by the FDA for intervertebral body fusion of the lumbar spine, from L2 to S1, in skeletally mature patients who have had six months of non-operative treatment. The device is intended for use at either one level or two contiguous levels for the treatment of degenerative disc disease with up to Grade I spondylolisthesis.