Smith & Nephew and OrthoSensor to co-market VERASENSE™ Sensor Assisted Surgery with JOURNEY™ II and LEGION™ Total Knee Replacements

LONDON, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN;LSE:SN), the global medical technology business, and OrthoSensor, the leader in intelligent orthopaedics, announced today an agreement that will enable surgeons to benefit from OrthoSensor's VERASENSE Sensor Assisted Surgery Technology for soft tissue balancing when implanting Smith & Nephew's JOURNEY™ II and LEGION™ Total Knee Systems.

VERASENSE utilizes advanced sensor technologies to enable evidence-based surgical decisions regarding component position, limb alignment and soft tissue balance to optimize outcomes in total knee replacement. Research shows that patients whose knees have been balanced with the VERASENSE Knee System report less pain and experience greater improvements in function, activity levels and satisfaction post-operatively. ¹

"Proper alignment and soft-tissue balance are vital to achieving favorable biomechanics in total knee replacement procedures," said Dr. Steven Haas, Chief of the Knee Service at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery. "VERASENSE not only allows me to verify the benefits of newer knee designs, it also helps ensure proper knee balance, which leads to a more normal feeling knee and a return to the active lifestyle these patients desire."

"Our JOURNEY II Total Knee System with VERILAST™ Technology is already delivering improved knee motion, patient function and implant wear reduction²," said Gaurav Agarwal, President of Orthopaedic Reconstruction for Smith & Nephew. "By combining our innovations with VERASENSE's exacting component placement and soft-tissue balancing our surgeons can deliver even more benefits to patients."

Historically, soft tissue balancing has been accomplished by subjective surgeon feel. The VERASENSE Knee System now provides surgeons with real-time, quantitative data that enables evidence-based, intraoperative decisions regarding component position, limb alignment and soft tissue releases to achieve balance and stability through a full range of motion.  At one-year, 97% of patients whose knees were quantifiably balanced using the VERASENSE Knee System said they were 'satisfied' to 'very satisfied' with the outcome of their total knee arthroplasty (TKA), a marked improvement over the average 81% satisfaction reported in literature.³

Jay Pierce, President and CEO of OrthoSensor, added, "We are seeing promising improvements in clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction in a multi-center study tracking patients balanced with VERASENSE.  We are pleased to work with Smith & Nephew to enable more surgeons to better treat their patients with our technology and the JOURNEY II and LEGION Total Knee Systems."

¹Gustke K, Golladay G, Roche M, Elson L, Anderson C. New Method for Defining Balance: Promising Short-Term Clinical Outcomes of Sensor-Guided TKA. J Arthroplasty. 2013 Oct 24. pii: S0883-5403(13)00802-4. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2013.10.020. [Epub ahead of print]

²Catani F, Ensini A, Belvedere C, Feliciangeli A, Benedetti MG, Leardini A, Giannini S. In vivo kinematics and kinetics of a bi-cruciate substituting total knee arthroplasty: a combined fluoroscopic and gait analysis study. J Orthop Res. 2009 Dec;27(12):1569-75.

³OrthoSensor Multicenter Evaluation 1-Year Results (pending publication).

About VERILAST Technology
VERILAST Technology is a unique combination of two advanced, wear-reducing materials: Smith & Nephew's award-winning OXINIUM™ Oxidized Zirconium, a ceramicised metal alloy, and a "cross-linked" plastic component (XLPE).

About Smith & Nephew

Smith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma & Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 11,000 employees and a presence in more than 90 countries. Annual sales in 2013 were more than $4.3 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).

For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our corporate website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com

About OrthoSensor

OrthoSensor, Inc. develops and commercializes intelligent orthopaedic devices and data services that provide quantitative feedback to surgeons and hospitals. The company's intelligent orthopaedic devices utilize advanced proprietary sensor and communications technologies coupled with the company's innovative software products to enable evidence-based orthopaedic surgery and a vision of improving patient outcomes and reducing the cost of treating musculoskeletal disease. For more information about OrthoSensor or the VERASENSE Knee System, please visit: www.orthosensor.com.

Forward-looking Statements

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™ Trademark of Smith & Nephew.  Registered US Patent and Trademark Office.

OrthoSensor and VERASENSE are trademarks of OrthoSensor, Inc. Registered US Patent and Trademark Office.

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SOURCE Smith & Nephew