Medtronic launches new KYPHON Express Curette for scraping or scoring bone in the spine

Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) today announced the launch of the new KYPHON® Express™ Curette for scraping or scoring bone in the spine, including during treatment of vertebral compression fractures with minimally invasive KYPHON® Balloon Kyphoplasty.

“As the leader and inventor of KYPHON Balloon Kyphoplasty, Medtronic is committed to the continued advancement of this important and specialized treatment to ensure the best outcomes for patients who suffer from debilitating spinal fractures”

The Kyphon Products Division of Medtronic Spinal and Biologics will showcase the new curette, along with the recently launched KYPHON® Cement Delivery System (CDS) and KYPHON® ActivOs™ 10 Bone Cement with Hydroxyapatite (HA), at the North American Spine Society (NASS) meeting in Orlando, FL taking place October 5-9, 2010 and at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) annual meeting October 16-21, 2010 in San Francisco.

The KYPHON Express Curette is designed to maximize control when scraping or scoring bone in the spine. This product is available in T-tip with a torque resetting device, which allows easy resetting of the device when the tip encounters excess torsion. It is compatible with Kyphon® Express™ access tools in the Size 2 offering. KYPHON Express Curette is currently available.

This new product is a continuation of the industry-leading advancements Medtronic has made over the past 10 years in the treatment of vertebral compression fractures - the most common osteoporotic fractures with an estimated 900,000 spinal fractures occurring in the U.S. every year. Left unrepaired, spinal fractures can cause additional health problems that increase the risk of mortality.

"As the leader and inventor of KYPHON Balloon Kyphoplasty, Medtronic is committed to the continued advancement of this important and specialized treatment to ensure the best outcomes for patients who suffer from debilitating spinal fractures," said Alex DiNello, vice president and general manager of the Kyphon Products Division. "Since we introduced balloon kyphoplasty in 2000, an estimated 800,000 fractures have been treated worldwide with KYPHON Balloon Kyphoplasty by approximately 14,500 trained spine specialists."

Other recent products being shown at NASS and CNS by the Kyphon Products Division are:

• KYPHON ActivOs 10 Bone Cement with HA - Formulated with 10 percent HA by weight in the powder, this cement has been shown in an animal trial to provide direct bony apposition on the surface of the cement without any intervening fibrous tissue layer. HA is a specific crystalline compound containing calcium and phosphate, which is similar to the mineral portion of bone. KYPHON ActivOs 10 was launched on June 21, 2010.
• CDS - Allows for the controlled delivery of KYPHON HVR® Bone Cement at a safer distance with a one‐handed operation, preserving some tactile feel during delivery with the ability to halt bone cement flow on demand with the quick‐release button. CDS was launched on September 21, 2009.