ECA Medical Develops Orthopedic Single-Procedure Ratchet

ECA Medical has developed a single-procedure ratchet for use during orthopedic and spine implant surgeries, the Thousand Oaks, Calif., devicemaker said Monday.

The Secure-Fast ratcheting system, which features bi-directionality and a pristine and fully cannulated body, should reduce surgical expenses by more than $1,000 per procedure, the company claims. Because the device is intended for one-time use means time will not be spent cleaning, reprocessing and resterilizing it, unlike other ratchets which are used in multiple surgeries.

The system has worldwide patents pending and will be available for sampling in the next few weeks, the devicemaker says.

More than $4 billion could be saved each year through worldwide adoption of disposable surgical fixation instruments and kits, the company estimates. — Jason Scott