Amidst low growth and a potential rebound in the $9 billion global spine market, the pure-play spine companies, including NuVasive, Globus, K2M and LDR, continue to outperform and grab share from the diversified giants. Medtech Insight founder and former CEO Sharon O'Reilly reports on these companies and more from the 2015 North American Spine Society (NASS) conference in Chicago, where the latest news centered around ancillary approaches to fusion, patient-specific tools, robotics, biologics, expandable cages, MIS and cervical discs.

For much of the device industry, 2011 was marked by continuing change across the medtech ecosystem, most notably in the economy, the regulatory process, and the financing/innovation model. For 2012, we predict more of the same: the only certainty is continuing uncertainty.

Brief summaries of recent medtech market and industry developments.

EBI’s device team reviews of the top news stories in the medical device industry in 2011. Top stories include: 510(k) reform, user-fees, VC money dries up for medtech, hot clinical spaces of the year, where private investment dollars went in 2011, big changes at J&J, and the new physician/hospital alignments and their impact on the medical device industry.