Stryker OptaBlate bone tumor ablation system
[Image from Stryker]

Stryker (NYSE:SYK) announced today that the FDA granted 510(k) clearance for its OptaBlate bone tumor ablation system.

Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Stryker designed its OptaBlate system to allow physicians to easily customize their procedure. The system helps to reduce ablation time by three minutes.

OptaBlate features four probes and Stryker’s patented microinfusion technology. The company said adding it to its interventional spine portfolio expands its competencies in vertebral augmentation and radiofrequency ablation. It also completes its portfolio of treatment options for metastatic vertebral body fractures, Stryker said.

“Stryker’s new bone tumor ablation (BTA) system is a significant improvement on existing technology and builds on Stryker’s IVS portfolio,” said Dr. Anthony Brown, a vascular and interventional radiologist at Radiology Imaging Associates, Colorado. “There is no more deserving patient population for our attention and intervention; OptaBlate will change lives.”

OptaBlate also offers a bipedicular approach that allows for the treatment of two vertebral body levels at once. It provides quicker, more consistent ablation.

The microinfusion technology keeps the zone hydrated, Stryker said. This reduces impedance errors and prevents charring.

Stryker plans to introduce OptaBlate at the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting next month in Chicago.

“Our commitment to our customers and understanding their needs has never been stronger. The collaboration has helped us to develop a more efficient bone tumor ablation system to address their unmet needs,” said Greg Siller, VP and GM, interventional spine business, Stryker. “OptaBlate will help our customers provide another treatment option for those suffering from painful metastatic cancer, and this is just the beginning.”