S & amp;N Strengthens ENT Portfolio with Tusker Medical Acquisition

Smith & Nephew has acquired Tusker Medical, a company that has developed Tula, a system to treat recurrent or persistent ear infections. The London-based company kept the financial details of the deal mum. The acquisition comes hot on the heels of CA-based Tusker Medical obtaining a PMA from FDA for Tula. MD+DI included the Tula system in a list of Devices Recently Approved by FDA. The system enables placement of ear tubes in the physician’s office without general anesthesia for patients six months and older. Using Tula, a physician numbs the eardrum using, child-friendly anesthesia while the patient may sit up, play, and watch videos. A specialized tube delivery system allows the physician to place an ear tube precisely in less than half a second using an automated device. Tula uses a small electrical current to deliver the Tymbion to the eardrum before tube insertion. The fitted earplugs keep the local anesthetic solution in the ear canal. Once the eardrum is adequately numb, the physician removes the earplugs and uses the Tula Tube Delivery System to create a small hole in the eardrum and insert the ear tube. The effectiveness of the Tula System for the delivery of ear tubes was assessed in a clinical study of 222 pediatric patients, ages 6 months to 12 years. Physicians were successful in placing ear tubes using the Tula System in 86% (103 of 120) of children ages 6 months to 4 years and in 89% (91 of 102) of children ages 5 to 12 years. In the same ...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Implants Business Source Type: news