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Caesarea Israel, May 25th, 2009 - Mazor Surgical Technologies Ltd. (TASE: MZOR) announced today that it is expanding its GO-LIF - Guided Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion clinical trial in Europe & Israel, following the CE mark approval for GO-LIF and the latest results of the biomechanical and pilot clinical studies presented at SAS London proving GO-LIF’s safety and efficacy in spine stabilization. These studies presented at SAS London by Dr. Isador Lieberman and Dr. Selvon St. Clair of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in the US, highlighted the biomechanical superiority, safety and feasibility findings concluded from recent extensive biomechanics studies.
GO-LIF – Guided Oblique Lumbar Interbody Fusion is an innovative spine surgical procedure developed by Mazor in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, under a strategic joint development agreement signed in April 2008. This procedure enables spinal fusion by insertion of the GO-LIF MFS proprietary screws into the patient’s vertebra using a minimally invasive surgical technique and accurate guidance provided by SpineAssist®, Mazor’s miniature robotic device.
The GO-LIF construct consists of 2 proprietary screws replacing the traditional 4 screws & 2 rods construct for spine stabilization. GO-LIF procedures may be performed using straight-forward open, minimally invasive and percutaneous approaches to stabilize the lumbar spine in conjunction with spinal fusion.
For patients, the GO-LIF procedure provides significant clinical benefits including:
- Bio-mechanical superiority, as the screws neutralize the instantaneous axis of rotation.
- Sparing soft and hard tissue including pedicles within the stabilized construct.
- Reducing the risk of muscle and nerve irritation due to less metal implants in the body.
- Benefits associated with a minimally invasive and percutaneous procedure.
The first GO-LIF procedure was successfully performed 6 months ago at Carmel Hospital, Israel by Dr. Bruskin and Dr. Silberstein. The patient was able to return to normal routine after only 72 hours and the 6 month follow-up x-ray clearly showed that the construct is intact. Since then, several cases have been performed both in Germany and Israel.
An international multi-center clinical trial has successfully commenced in 8 centers in Germany and Israel and additional centers such as Switzerland will join shortly, pending hospital IRB and ethical committee approvals. Mazor is in the process of identifying 10 additional centers, which may be interested and qualified to participate in the GO-LIF study.
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