Straight from the hip - Memphis Business Journal:

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But a new start-up medical devices company intends to change that with a line of implante that can be used in relativelyyounfg people, restoring their activities and relieving their last week announced first-round funding of $4 millioj in a private placement, plus an all-star boarx of directors, including Jack former president of . The company is founded on technologyg first developed in Israel by materials engineerAmiran Steinberg, who created a polymer to make high-speedc boat hulls strong and flexible. Europea and Israeli investors have alreadyspent $7 millionj on creating a medicao formulation for spinal use, splittingb off into the firm Implianty Ltd., in Netanya, Israel.
Active Implants plans its firstf hip implant in Europe before the end ofthe year, followed by an artificial meniscus, the cartilagw in the knee pronde to tears. At some point the company planes a second round of funding to develop an artificiallspinal disc. Rather than a totalk hip at 65 yearsxof age, the company has a polymef cup that can be slippec over the ball of the joint in a younger perso just experiencing symptoms. The material is so tough that inEngland couldn't find any wear after 5 milliob cycles; they developed a new way of testinvg it at the molecular level and it still was virtualluy unaffected.
"The whole orthopedif industry has been focusefd on advanceddegenerative disease," says president and CEO Stepheh Bradshaw. "But someone doesn't suddenly need an implant. They give up thing for 10-20 years: golf, walking, their quality of Blair agreedto serve, but only aftef running an independent background checl on Steinberg and the other "The management group comes from orthopedicc space; they may not all be but they know their way he says.
Orthopedic surgeon Michael Lewis has been in practic e for 30 years andsays it's frustrating to trea t younger patients with medication, injections and physical therapy, only to tell them to quit doing what they most enjoy and wait until they're old enough for major "Stopping tennis isn't what they and that may not preventr the disease from advancing Lewis says. That experience compelled him to join the ActivsImplant board. Lewis is also senior vice president and chief medical officerd ofin Orlando. "Cartilage is the naturak shock absorber, so most people get surgeryt when the cartilage is wornand it'xs bone-on-bone," Bradshaw says.
"We can go in earlyt and resurface with the polyme and restore the shock A number of drugs are being developef to stimulatecartilage growth; Bradshaw sees his devicew as a way to hold those drugs specificallg where they need to be. The polymerd is already listed with FDA as not being so there's the opportunity of licensinvg its use to other companies.