A Medical Device Daily

MIMI-USA (Memphis, Tennessee), a subsidiary of orthopedic manufacturer Memometal Technologies (Bruz, France) reported the launch of MemoDerm Acellular Dermal Matrix, a terminally sterilized, single-application onlay graft used to promote healing of diabetic foot ulcers and other soft-tissue repairs. The MemoDerm Acellular Dermal Matrix will be a technology platform for a future family of products.

According to the company, open wounds affect 15% to 24% of the roughly 20 million Americans with diabetes, and can be a challenge to medical professionals. These ulcers precede 85% of the 80,000 lower limb amputations that occur each year, MIMI said.

“Many of these patients are at increased risk for limb-threatening infection. Therefore, having a sterile treatment such as the MemoDerm Sterile, Acceluar Dermal Matrix is an unprecedented advantage in lowering infection risk,“ said Andrew Rice, MD, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Yale University School of Medicine (New Haven, Connecticut).

The company says MemoDerm Sterile Acellular Dermal Matrix joins an “impressive list“ of new products introduced in 2010. These include the Smart Toe II Hammertoe fixation system, the Anchorage plating system, the Smart Toe DIP implant, the Fixos SV and CS screw system, the SubFix arthroeresis system, and the Ti-Fuse fixation system.

“From a company perspective, we want to substantially differentiate our products,“ said Tommy Turpin, VP of marketing for the MemoDerm line.

The company says this new graft material is sterile, and therefore a significant improvement over the main competitor in the market. Several design features, combined with biological components, provide a dermal scaffold for blood vessel and tissue re-growth. In addition, MemoDerm Dermal Matrix is processed using a patent-pending method that minimizes the potential for immunogenic response, and preserves the natural histomorphology.

“In terms of safety, biomechanical strength and structural performance, MemoDerm Dermal Matrix is a higher-quality product, offering clinicians more flexibility and reliability,“ Turpin said.

Alan Taylor, general manager of MMI, said the MemoDerm Dermal Matrix “further demonstrates Memometal Technologies' commitment to improve the standard of care and expand the science in the extremity orthopedic market.“

In May the company reported that it had expanded its U.S. pending patent applications including a patent directed to its Smart Toe intramedullary implant and a patent application directed to its X-Fuse intramedullary implant. The company also recently acquired the patent and trademark rights in the U.S. for OrthoGlide ankle implants.

The Smart Toe implant, specifically developed for Hammertoe arthrodesis, is now available in the original neutral Smart Toe design and the 10° Angled version. According to MMI, its advantages include: one piece implant (no connection required); no post-op implant exposure; no healthy joint disruption; eliminates risk of “pin tract“ infection; compressive feature reduces non-union occurrence; and its shape resists rotation.

Another recently-launched product from MMi is the SubFix arthroeresis implant which is designed to address the hindfoot component of a broad spectrum of flexible pes plano valgus deformities such as the hypermobile flatfoot to stage II posterior tibial tendon dysfunction. The SubFix arthroeresis implant limits anterior and medial migration of the talus during pronation thereby allowing normal articulation of the subtalar and midtarsal joints, according to MMI.