Becker's Spine Review

27 Becker's 13th Annual Spine, Orthopedic and Pain Management-Driven ASC Conference + The Future of Spine - call (800) 417-2035 the target disc for patients with moderate lumbar degenerative disc disease as part of the Mesoblast clinical trial. Bernard Rawlins, MD (Hospital for Special Sur- gery, New York City). Dr. Rawlins is a spine sur- geon at Hospital for Special Surgery with research interests in gene-mediated spine fusion, spine biomechanics and innovative surgical techniques. His clinical trials include osteogenic differentia- tion of human mesenchymal stem cells and he has written several scientific chapters and articles on biologic treatment. Harvinder S. Sandhu, MD (Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City). Dr. Sandhu is an associ- ate attending orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery and an assistant scientist in the hospital's research division. He has a special inter- est in endoscopic spine surgery, computer-assist- ed spine surgery and the use of biologics. During his career, Dr. Sandhu has published several ar- ticles in peer-review publications in areas such as biologic enhancement of spine surgery. Francis H. Shen, MD (University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville). Dr. Shen's research interests include applying tissue engi- neering principles to solving problems in spine care. His current research includes the develop- ment of techniques for managing spinal fusion and treating intervertebral disc degeneration us- ing tissue engineering principles. He also focuses on the use of osteoinductive proteins for generat- ing spinal fusions. Robert M. Shugart, MD (Fort Wayne Orthope- dics, Fort Wayne, Ind.). Along with his colleague Kevin Rahn, MD, Dr. Shugart is examining the effectiveness of injecting mesenchymal precursor stem cells into the center of the disc for patients with moderate lumbar degenerative disc disease as part of the Mesoblast clinical trial. Rudolph Shrot, MD (Sutter Health, Sacramen- to). Dr. Shrot was among the neurosurgeons per- forming procedures using the Mesoblast technol- ogy to promote bone tissue growth after removing cervical discs. The new stem cell therapy uses bone marrow-derived adult stem cells to promote growth. Jonathan Slotkin, MD (Geisinger Health System, Danville, Pa.). Dr. Slotkin is on the scientific ad- visory board for InVivo Therapeutics, a medical device company focused on solutions for patients with spinal cord injury with a new scaffold that includes human neural stem cells. His expertise includes minimally invasive and complex spine surgery as well as spinal oncology. He is director of spinal surgery, Geisinger Neurosciences Insti- tute and director of spinal cord research. Gary K. Steinberg, MD (Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, Calif.). Dr. Steinberg has a strong background in stem cell biology and participated in the Geron Corp trails at Stanford. Dr. Steinberg has researched the use of stem cells in models of neurological injury or illness and received a $20 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to study how neural stem cells could be used to treat patients with ischemic stroke. Fernando Techy, MD (Rocky Mountain Associates in Orthopedic Medicine, Johnstown, Colo.). Dr. Techy has a special interest in using stem cells and other biologic materials in spine surgery. He per- forms stem cell injections into the intervertebral disc and large joints. Dr. Techy is on faculty for AO Spine North America and is a member of the Or- thopaedic StemCell Institute in Colorado. Gowriharan Thaiyananthan, MD (BASIC Spine, Orange, Calif.). Dr. Thaiyananthan is founder and head surgeon at BASIC Spine. He has experi- ence using cadaveric stem cells, donor stem cells and patients' own mesenchymal stem cells as graft material during spine procedures. Nicholas Theodore, MD (Barrow Neurologi- cal Associates, Phoenix). Dr. Theodore has been clinical advisor for SpinalCyte, a company devel- oping new technology to re-grow spinal discs. Dr. Theodore is director of the neurosurgery spine program and neurotrauma as well as associate di- rector of the neurosurgery residency program at Barrow Neurological Institute. Jeffrey Wang, MD (Keck Medicine of USC, Los An- geles). Dr. Wang is the chief of the orthopedic spine service and co-director of the USC Spine Center. He presented at a recent North American Spine Society meeting on the eventual clinical use of stem cells in spine fusion surgery. Dr. Wang foresees stem cells being used in conjunction with growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins. Michael Wang, MD (University of Miami Health System). Dr. Wang has several research interests, including the use of robots in spine surgery, re- sorbable spinal implants and the development of new osteobiologic agents to promote spinal fu- sion. During his career, Dr. Wang authored several articles published in professional journals. Robert Watkins Jr., MD (Watkins Spine, Marina Del Rey, Calif.). Dr. Watkins is an orthopedic spine surgeon and has been co-director of the Marina Spine Center at Marina del Rey (Calif.) Hospital. He participates in research related to biologics for spine surgery, spinal fusions and surgical technology. Eric Woodard, MD (New England Baptist Hos- pital, Boston). Dr. Woodard is the CMO of In- Vivo Therapeutics, a medical device company focused on finding solutions for patients with spinal cord injury, including using stem cells. Dr. Woodard is also the chief of neurosurgery at New England Baptist Hospital and former chief of spine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston. n Medtronic Pays $2.8M in False Claims Settlement — 5 Things to Know By Laura Dyrda T he newly-dubbed Medtronic PLC agreed to pay $2.8 million to the United States Justice Department to settle the false claims case alleg- ing illegal payments to physicians, according to a Star Tribune report. Here are five things to know about the settlement: 1. The justice department alleged Medtronic, among others, made "illegal payments" to physicians in exchange for recommending procedures that weren't safe or effective, according to the report. 2. Medtronic denied any wrongdoing in a statement issued late last week. The charges have been dismissed after Medtronic agreed to pay $2.8 mil- lion with "no admission of liability." "Medtronic is committed to following appropriate marketing and re- imbursement practices at all times, and for many years has had in place a comprehensive and robust employee compliance program," said Medtronic in the statement. 3. The Justice department alleges Medtronic made payments to several physicians in 20 states to "encourage health providers to use [a neuro- stimulation] device off-label." As a result the company created a rapidly- expanding market for their devices, according to the federal lawsuit. 4. The suit was brought by a former Medtronic sales representative who was concerned about the neuromodulation devices being used for an in- vestigational procedure. The lawsuit alleges hospitals were encouraged to charge Medicare for the unapproved procedure using the billing code for the FDA-approved procedure after selling the device at a "steep discount." 5. There are also allegations the company paid a physician to show other physicians how he performed the off-label procedure. n

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