HemiCAP^® Resurfacing System

Description

The Arthrosurface HemiCAP resurfacing system is a comprehensive surgical solution for the treatment of lesions and defects in the body’s weight bearing, non-weight bearing and extremity joints. The system is comprised of three elements:

• A family of “patient matching” cobalt chrome articular implants;

• A threaded fixation component; and

• An instrument set used to intraoperatively map the joint surface, prepare the joint/bone and implant the prosthesis.

The HemiCAP system precisely aligns the surface of the implant to the contours of the patient's articular surface, filling the defect and restoring a smooth and continuous joint surface. The implants are designed to match the surface and contours being restored. The instruments and techniques apply to any joint surface, spherical, aspherical, convex, concave or convex-concave.

The procedure is intuitive and easy to learn. Because the tools and techniques are identical for each joint, the procedure can be performed by the same surgeon on multiple joints with a minimal learning curve.

HemiCAP^® System Advantages

for the Patient

• HemiCAP technology was designed for patients who live longer, continue working, and retain more active lifestyles, and have an increased need for joint preserving treatments

• New treatment option that bridges gap between “first-line” therapies and total joint replacement

• Clinical studies demonstrate early positive clinical outcomes across different joints

• Patients report outstanding pain relief, rapid recovery times and significant range of motion improvements in multi-center studies

• Procedure may be performed on outpatient basis

• HemiCAP allows for preservation of the joint and surrounding bone and maintains existing joint biomechanics, thereby allowing normal motion 

for the Surgeon

• Short learning curve

• Intuitive, universal, reproducible procedure across multiple joints

• Minimally invasive/outpatient procedure: typically, procedures can be performed in approximately one hour

• Maintains soft-tissue envelope, normal joint mechanics and preserves future surgical options

• Preserves skeletal anatomy and therefore does not preclude more aggressive treatment such as a total joint replacement

Surgical Technique

The HemiCAP implants are comprised of two parts: an articular cap and a fixation component. The articular component is a rounded, cap-like implant made from a cobalt chrome (CoCr) alloy with a central post on its underside. Cobalt chrome is a material that has been used in total joint reconstruction devices for over two decades. This material has proven to provide a safe, effective and strong weight-bearing surface in joints. This metal alloy exhibits lubricious qualities very similar to articular cartilage when implanted in a joint.

The fixation component looks like a screw and is made of Titanium (Ti), another material that has been used in orthopaedics for decades. The two components are connected together via a morse taper which is a very secure method of fixation.

The HemiCAP surgical procedure begins when an articular defect is confirmed. The diameter of the defect is determined and a guide wire is introduced into the middle of the defect. The fixation component is implanted to establish the mechanism for anchoring the articular component . Using the fixation component as a central axis, specially designed instruments are used to map the contours of the patient's articular cartilage surrounding the defect and to prepare the tissue in and around the defect for the resurfacing implant. Once the site is prepared, the HemiCAP resurfacing implant is brought into position and seated.

 

 

There are two prevalent shoulder injuries that can be correlated to a significant number of cartilage pathologies, dislocations and rotator cuff injuries. There are estimates that rotator cuff injuries occur in approximately 400,000 cases worldwide each year. It is estimated that in at least 10% of these cases, there is also a large humeral head injury with fully exposed bone. Therefore, Arthrosurface estimates that there are approximately 40,000 cases per year where the HemiCAP implant could be used to address a full-cartilage defect in the  shoulder associated with a rotator cuff injury.

Shoulder dislocations result from either a forceful collision, falling on an outreached arm or a sudden wrenching movement. A complication of primary dislocation is subsequent recurrent dislocations. It is estimated that there are approximately 500,000 shoulder dislocations in the U.S. annually and approximately 500,000 outside the U.S.  In approximately 60% of shoulder dislocations, patients will develop humeral head injuries whereby the bone and cartilage on the surface of the humeral head will be  affected. Using these figures, it is believed that as many as 100,000 cases per year related to a shoulder dislocation could be candidates for the HemiCAP shoulder system.