• DePuy Spine (Raynham, Massachusetts), a business of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey), re-ported launch of the Uniplate Anterior Cervical Plate System, a new midline screw-per-vertebral-body system for one- or two-level cervical fusion procedures. The Uniplate System consists of a semi-rigid plate only 10.5 mm wide that, DePuy said, provides stability comparable to traditional cervical plates without requiring fewer screws and thus fewer steps. The company said that the Uniplate System is the narrowest plate on the market, with a thickness of 2.3 mm, and includes a patented locking mechanism, called Tri-lobe Cam-Loc, to secure the screws. The system also includes the Universal Guide, described as an all-in-one tool that acts as a plate holder through which an awl, drill, tap and screws can be inserted. DePuy Spine’s other anterior cervical plate systems include Eagle Rigid, Swift Dynamic and Slim-Loc. Anterior cervical fusion is performed to relieve pain caused by a damaged or degenerated disc. Metal plates and screws may be necessary to support the neck while the vertebrae fuse.