PR99895

LONDON, April 11, 2023 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-- Small, disposable, compact and simple to use navigation tool offers surgeons

speed and reliability without the financial burden of capital equipment

Smith+Nephew (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN), the global medical technology company, today

announces an agreement with NAVBIT to exclusively distribute the NAVBIT SPRINT

disposable navigation device for use in primary hip arthroplasty in Japan.

NAVBIT SPRINT delivers a fast and reliable alternative to capital investment

improving efficiencies for hospitals.

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Post-operative dislocation is the number two most common reason for revision of

a total hip replacement around the world(1,2,3,4) and remains a serious concern

for surgeons when performing total hip arthroplasty. Studies have shown reduced

risk of dislocation when using navigation.(5)

The NAVBIT SPRINT device has been shown to be accurate to within an average

error of 2.13 degrees in cup inclination and 2.36 degrees in cup anteversion.(6)

"Smith+Nephew's new agreement with NAVBIT offers Japanese surgeons an exciting

technology to improve outcomes and efficiencies in the operating room," said

Shinya Dobashi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, North Asia,

Smith+Nephew. "Only 49% of acetabular cups are accurately aligned when using

manual instrumentation.(7) NAVBIT SPRINT offers our customers a simple and

accurate solution to achieve reproducible results."

"In the past surgery was more art than science. Today we have higher

expectations around the accuracy and precision of our surgery," said Professor

Bill Walter, Orthopaedic Surgeon and Founder of NAVBIT. "Outliers are becoming

less acceptable to surgeons and to patients.  Surgeons will have to answer the

question: If there is a technology available that can make you more accurate,

why are you not using it?"

"Japanese surgeons are the most sophisticated in their field. They are the

leaders in understanding the complexities of hip surgery in 3 dimensions and

the impact of movements of the spine and pelvis on the outcomes of hip

replacement," said Lynette Walter, CEO of NAVBIT. "Navbit is delighted to be

working with the most capable, tech savvy surgeons in the world."

NAVBIT's SPRINT System is available through Smith+Nephew in Japan for either

supine and lateral approaches to primary hip arthroplasty.

References

1. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry

(AOANJRR). Hip, Knee & Shoulder Arthroplasty: 2020 Annual Report, Adelaide;

AOA, 2020: 1-474. [Available at: https://aoanjrr.sahmri.com/annual-reports-2020]

2. National Joint Registry for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 17th Annual

Report. [Available at: http://www.njrcentre.org.uk/njrcentre]

3. American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR), The Seventh Annual Report of the

AJRR on Hip and Knee Arthroplasty 2020, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

4. Italian Arthroplasty Register, Addendum to the Annual Report 2019, English

Version of Tables and Figures, October 2020

5. Agarwal S, Eckhard L, Walter WL, et al. The Use of Computer Navigation in

Total Hip Arthroplasty Is Associated with a Reduced Rate of Revision for

Dislocation: A Study of 6,912 Navigated THA Procedures from the Australian

Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry. J Bone Joint Surg

Am. 2021.

6. Walter WL, Baker NA, Marsden-Jones D, Sageghpour A. Novel measure of

acetabular cup inclination and anteversion during Total Hip Arthroplasty. 2022

in press.

7. The John Charnley Award: Risk Factors for Cup Malpositioning: Quality

Improvement Through a Joint Registry at a Tertiary Hospital.  Malchau et al

Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2011 Feb; 469(2): 319–329.

About Smith+Nephew

Smith+Nephew is a portfolio medical technology company focused on the repair,

regeneration and replacement of soft and hard tissue. We exist to restore

people's bodies and their self-belief by using technology to take the limits

off living. We call this purpose 'Life Unlimited'. Our 19,000 employees deliver

this mission every day, making a difference to patients' lives through the

excellence of our product portfolio, and the invention and application of new

technologies across our three global franchises of Orthopaedics, Sports

Medicine & ENT and Advanced Wound Management.

Founded in Hull, UK, in 1856, we now operate in more than 100 countries, and

generated annual sales of $5.2 billion in 2022. Smith+Nephew is a constituent

of the FTSE100 (LSE:SN, NYSE:SNN). The terms 'Group' and 'Smith+Nephew' are

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the context requires otherwise.

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SOURCE Smith & Nephew plc

CONTACT: David Snyder, Smith+Nephew, +1 978-749-1440