From the new leadership of the spine department to the expansion of the minimally invasive product portfolio and the development of the innovation park in the United States, Medtronic has 10 key updates this year:

1. On January 4th, Harry "Skip" Kiil will become the president of Medtronic's skull and spine technology operations. For the past three years, Mr. Kiil has served as President of Smith+Nephew Global Orthopedics, responsible for the company's reconstructive joint replacement, robotics, trauma and limb businesses. He has also held various leadership positions in Stryker and has worked there for 12 years.

2. Medtronic’s skull and spine technology division saw a slight decline in revenue in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022, with the company’s total revenue of $7.8 billion.

"Our second-quarter results reflect the key execution of our strategy and the strong underlying health of our business, despite the resurgence of the pandemic and the healthcare system staffing challenges that have had a market impact on the number of medical procedures, especially in the United States. Affected our quarterly revenue growth," said CEO Jeff Martha.

3. In October, Medtronic announced that it would no longer distribute Aziyo Biologics' cellular bone matrix products. The move was made after Aziyo's FiberCel product was recalled after several patients who received the product tested positive for tuberculosis. Multiple lawsuits have been filed against patients who allegedly fell ill or died from the contaminated product.

4. Medtronic's Mazor X robot guidance system was launched in Canada in October. Medtronic acquired Mazor Robotics for $1.7 billion in 2018 as part of its plan to integrate spinal implants, navigation and 3D imaging technologies with Mazor X, which was launched in the United States in 2019.

5. Medtronic announced in September that it had added three new items to its minimally invasive spine surgery product portfolio. Catalyft PL and PL40 are part of the Catalyft expandable intervertebral system. The Space-D access system can achieve traction, contraction and compression based on pedicle screws.

6. In September, Medtronic recruited the first patient for its Braive growth regulation system scoliosis clinical trial. Braive is Medtronic's latest pediatric spine device. It uses a braid fixed on the spine to slow the growth of the curved side of the spine. The study included patients in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

7. In June, the company broke ground on a 400,000 square foot innovation park in Lafayette, Colorado. The company's goal is to relocate approximately 1,100 R&D and administrative employees from its facilities in Boulder and Louisville, Colorado to new locations by the end of 2022.

8. Medtronic has redoubled its efforts in data, artificial intelligence and machine learning, which Mr. Martha called "the new frontier of medical technology". Medtronic focuses on collecting data sets and developing algorithms. "We have done this in terms of the spine by recently acquiring Medicrea and using data and artificial intelligence in preoperative planning to create personalized spinal implants," he said.

9. The National Institutes of Health awarded Medtronic and the University of Louisville (Kentucky) a $7.8 million grant in March for research on epidural stimulation for spinal cord injury. Medtronic is working with scientists at the university to develop a spinal cord injury software application integrated with the Intellis spinal cord stimulator system. The project will focus on developing technologies to improve the control of exercise and bladder function.

10. Medtronic's patient-specific UNiD rods are approved for use with a variety of spinal systems, including rods, hooks, screws, and intervertebral fusion devices. The UNiD rod is pre-curved before surgery to match the preoperative plan created using artificial intelligence technology, which aims to precisely align the patient's spine and reduce the risk of misalignment and related repair surgery.

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