SpineGuard, S.A. is a French company that develops and markets probes for the enhancement of

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Vertebral column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoolog ...

surgery. The probes, termed PediGuard devices, assist spine

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

s in more accurately drilling a pilot hole in preparation for pedicle screw insertion.Bolger C et al. Electrical conductivity measurement: a new technique to detect iatrogenic initial pedicle perforation. Eur Spine J. 2007 Nov;16(11):1919-24

History

Founded in 2009, SpineGuard is a spin-off of SpineVision.Kronemyer, Bob. SpineGuard SA. Start-up. Informa PLC. Web. October. 2012. http://www.mst.ru/publications/eng/spinal/PediGuard/Article_Start_up.pdf SpineGuard founders Pierre Jerome and Stephane Bette purchased the assets of the technology from SpineVision with financial assistance from

institutional investors An institutional investor is an entity which pools money to purchase securities, real property, and other investment assets or originate loans. Institutional investors include commercial banks, central banks, credit unions, government-linked co ...

. Along with inventors Maurice Bourlion, PhD; Ciaran Bolger, MD, Ph.D., a neurosurgeon from

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

; Alain Vanquaethem, a biomedical engineer; and other leading surgeons, the founders developed a technology, Dynamic Surgical Guidance (DSG), intended to make spine surgery safer. In 2013, SpineGuard went public (ALSGD). It is currently traded on the AlterNext exchange in France. The corporate headquarters of SpineGuard is in Vincennes, near Paris, France.SpineGuard raises $11 million and acquires PediGuard® business unit from SpineVision. The news site of Credit Agricole Group. Crédit Agricole S.A. Web. 14. April. 2009. To support the DSG Technology and its adoption in the US market, SpineGuard Inc. maintains a sales and marketing office in San Francisco, California. SpineGuard also has sales coverage with a network of about 45 distributors worldwide.

Technology

The DSG Technology is based on the differential electrical conductivity of various tissue types. It has been determined that

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

neural In Biology, biology, the nervous system is the Complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its Behavior, actions and Sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its ...

and

vascular The blood vessels are the components of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away f ...

tissue have the most conductivity, cancellous bone has medium conductivity, and cortical bone has the least conductivity of all tissues that are encountered during a typical spinal fusion procedure. Audible and visual signals indicate tissue type based on measurements of electrical conductivity. SpineGuard products prepare the pilot hole for pedicle screw placement during spine surgery. The PediGuard probes address various spine pathologies and surgical approaches. The PediGuard probe is FDA-cleared and CE-marked, but it is not cleared for use in the cervical spine by the FDA in the US. The PediGuard probe is a stand-alone, handheld device that can detect possible vertebral cortex perforation during pedicle preparation for screw placement. The PediGuard probes can alert the surgeon prior to a breach by accurately analyzing the electrical conductivity of the surrounding tissues in real-time. This, in turn, can prevent a cortical breach and also help the surgeon redirect the probe and advance down the desired path. Clinical studies have shown that the PediGuard devices can reduce radiation exposure and screw placement time during the spinal procedure.Lubansu A et al. Prospective Evaluation of a Free-Hand Electrical Conductivity Measuring Device to Reduce Radiation Exposure during Fluoroscopically Assisted Open or Minimally Invasive Pedicle Screw Arthrodesis. Erasmus. EurosSpine 2011

References

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External links

Spineguard web site

Resubmission

Spine Health care companies established in 2009 Val-de-Marne Medical technology companies of France Companies based in Île-de-France French companies established in 2009