Successful early outcomes reported for Vertera Cohere fusion device

2140
Vertera Spine Cohere
Vertera Spine Cohere

The first early successful outcomes using the Cohere cervical interbody fusion device have been reported by Vertera Spine.

Cohere is Vertera Spine’s first device featuring the company’s patented porous PEEK (polyetherether ketone) Scoria biomaterial technology. Scoria’s porous architecture is designed to integrate with the bulk PEEK implant, providing an environment for bony tissue ingrowth while retaining the mechanical and imaging properties of traditional PEEK implants.

Since its initial soft launch in May 2016, over 400 Cohere devices have been implanted in anterior cervical fusion surgeries across the USA. Robert McGuire, past chairman of AO Spine North America, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, USA, was one of the first surgeons to use the Cohere implant.

“I have been very pleased with the early outcomes I am seeing with the Cohere device,” says McGuire. “There has been a clinical need for a porous PEEK fusion device that addresses the limited integration capabilities of traditional PEEK devices. I am excited to adopt Cohere into my practice.”

According to a company release, studies have demonstrated that porous implants are able to generate a stronger osteogenic cellular response and better osseointegrate over implants with micro- and nano-roughness. While porous metal or porous metal-coated PEEK implants have found their way into spinal fusion applications, Cohere is the first device in clinical use to be manufactured entirely out of PEEK and contain porosity. Because there is no metal, Cohere will not produce any medical imaging artefacts, allowing accurate visualisation of the fusion site.

Clint Hill (The Orthopaedic Institute in Paducah, USA), another soft launch Cohere user, has several patients at five months post-surgery.

“Cohere with its porous PEEK architecture is the first of its kind to offer an osteoconductive environment without the use of metal. With all my patients who have received a Cohere device, I am observing early signs of fusion with significant bony bridging,” says Hill.

Likewise, Brandon Strenge, also from the Orthopaedic Institute, has implanted several Cohere devices and is observing similar outcomes at almost five months post-surgery.

“The hydrophilic nature and ingrowth capability of Cohere’s porous architecture gives me the confidence that fusion can be achieved even in more challenging multi-level cases,” says Strenge. “Porous PEEK Scoria is a game-changing technology that will make all other PEEK devices obsolete and could lend itself to many future applications.”