"The significance to the company [and] to the spine community is that this is certainly the device the surgeon [and] patient has been looking for a long time. Many companies have been working in this area for a long time and have not achieved this milestone."

— Chip Bao, PhD, of Pioneer Medical, on the company's receipt of FDA approval to proceed to an IDE pivotal study of its NuBac nucleus replacement device for the spine, "FDA okays study of Pioneer's nucleus replacement device."