Jahr: 2015

During a special joimax^® faculty meeting which was held at the institute of anatomy at the University of Mainz, Germany on June 20-21, joimax^® honored three surgeons with the Parviz Kambin Award. Dr. Albert Telfeian, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, RI, US and Dr. Gabriele Jasper, Center for Pain Control, NJ, US received the award in recognition of their outstanding scientific and educational dedication to transforaminal surgery. The two surgeons tremendously contributed to this field with numerous high quality publications. Also they are treading new paths for spinal endoscopy. Just recently Dr. Telfeian did the first awake surgery to remove a thoracic spinal tumor. Dr. Menno Iprenburg, Iprenburg Herniakliniek, NL received the award for his lifetime achievement. Dr. Iprenburg is applying joimax techniques, especially TESSYS, since 2004. In his private clinic, he successfully treated more than 2000 patients suffering from disc herniations.

The award is named after Dr. Parviz Kambin who identified a workspace within the intervertebral foramen, through which the spinal canal can be accessed safely. Because this safe zone is somewhat triangular shaped, it was named the „Kambin triangle“.

On the left: Award winner Dr. Menno Iprenburg (r.) with joimax^® CEO Wolfgang Ries (l.) On the right: Award winners Dr. Albert Telfeian (r.) and Dr. Gabriele Jasper (l.) with Wolfgang Ries (m.)

Karlsruhe, Germany – June 8, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) – The German company joimax^®, developer of technologies and training methods for minimally invasive endoscopic spinal surgery, today announced it will introduce the company’s new iLESSYS^® Delta system to the market at the 66th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Neurosurgery (DGNC) taking place in Karlsruhe, Germany from June 7-10.

iLESSYS^® Delta, an advanced development of the joimax iLESSYS^® technology, is suitable for dorsal and dorso lateral treatment of central spinal canal stenosis. The iLESSYS^® Delta system enables a large area to be decompressed by means of the interlaminar access, guided by endoscopic-assisted vision.

“Since the access to the spine is the same as with the already well-established iLESSYS^® technique, usage is very straightforward.” said Dr. Guntram Krzok, orthopedic surgeon from Waltershausen, Germany after testing the new system at a joimax workshop early this year. “I was impressed by the new scope which delivers outstanding image quality. With the specialized instrument set, it is finally possible to achieve decompression of central spinal canal stenosis.”

The iLESSYS^® Delta instrument set includes specially developed tools that enable extensive, yet gentle, tissue-sparing decompression. The 6 mm working channel of the new endoscope allows for the use of large shaver blades designed for bone resection and endo-kerrisons. An additional option is the plastic (PPSU) working tube for unimpaired X-ray examination.

“iLESSYS^® Delta is a logical addition to our portfolio. Not only is the system suitable for endoscopic decompression, but it also allows the parallel implantation of cages. This way we can achieve dorsal decompression and stabilization in one step,” comments Wolfgang Ries, CEO and founder of joimax.

About joimax

Founded in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2001, joimax^® is one of the leading medical device companies in minimally invasive spinal surgery („joined minimal access“). The company’s U.S. subsidiary was established in Irvine, California, in 2005. The company is primarily focused on the development, production and marketing of technologies and methods for minimally invasive endoscopic spinal surgery. joimax is active in 40 countries around the globe and its methods have been successfully employed in approximately 130,000 surgeries. With a special focus on education, the company provides surgeons with specialized technique training through the three-step joimax CM3 education program. This program includes visitations, cadaver workshops and live-surgery support.

As the second step of the joimax^® CM3 Education Program, surgeons are trained on joimax^® methods during hands-on cadaver workshops taking place throughout the year in different locations and countries.
The typical workshop agenda includes theoretical sessions with expert lectures from joimax^® Faculty members as well as practical sessions on human cadavers. The feedback joimax^® receives from the trained doctors after each workshop and the increasing number of workshop registrants speak for themselves. “When we analyze the feedback forms after each course we find that participants highly value the hands-on time which also allows them to discuss with the instructors as well as the opportunity to share experience with surgeons that are new to endoscopy.” says Monika Gensert, Senior Product and Education Manager at joimax^®.

From January to May 2015, joimax^® organized and conducted four workshops in Germany and Austria and another four workshops in the US. In Europe alone joimax^® trained 60 surgeons from various countries and disciplines. Surgeons can chose between basic and advanced courses which differ in the complexity of the techniques taught, i.e. the EndoLIF^®, iLESSYS^® stenosis and CESSYS^® approach is only trained in advanced workshops.
Additionally, joimax^® technologies were part of 4 DWG (German Spine Society) Modules for Board Certification of spine surgeons.
At the US workshops, whose attendees exclusively come from the US and Mexico, another 43 surgeons were instructed on TESSYS^®, Multiuse, iLESSYS^®, Percusys^® and EndoLIF^®.
“The workshop was excellent, with lots of great input from the joimax^® team, as well as from the faculty surgeons.” stated a US-workshop attendee.

Your next opportunity to join one of our workshops will be in Mainz, Germany on June 19-20 and in Dallas, Texas, US on July 18. For more workshop dates click here.

US workshop with joimax^® Faculty Dr. Daniel Laich, Irvine, CA, US, March 2015

The 8th Annual Congress of the Chinese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (CAOS) was held at the Beijing International Convention Center, Beijing, China on May 7-10.
joimax^® joined this important international event both as an exhibitor and as an education partner.
CAOS, in collaboration with NASS, created the “Techniques in Complex Spine Surgery” program which featured six 1-hour live technique demonstrations, two 3-hour hands-on cadaver workshops, and five lectures with discussion. As expert support for this exciting program, CAOS invited two members of the joimax^® Faculty Team: Dr. Guntram Krzok, Friedrichroda, Germany and Dr. Ralf Wagner, Frankfurt, Germany.
The two surgeons delivered well-visited lectures and demonstrated the joimax^® TESSYS^® technique. As a highlight of the event, the technique demonstrations were shared via webcast and more than 1000 surgeons viewed the program in the Beijing convention hall. More than 26,000 surgeons, surgical nurses and technicians viewed the demos online which enabled maximum visibility for joimax and its technologies.

The joimax^® team members who supported the event on-site were deeply impressed by the strong interest in the latest spine surgery systems coming from many Chinese surgeons. Needless to say China is the largest medical market in the world and joimax^® will continue to strengthen its relationship with local partners and training centers.

Live webcast during joimax^® TESSYS^® technique demonstration at CAOS 2015.

From May 2-6, the 83rd American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Annual Scientific Meeting welcomed more than 3,000 medical attendees to Washington, D.C., to celebrate and reflect on both the history and future of neurosurgery.

The team from joimax® Inc. (Irvine, CA, US) participated in this important event as a corporate partner and showcased its products for minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). Traffic to the booth was high and the team was very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. One topic that came up during many discussions with the visiting attendees was the screw-rod system Percusys® for spinal stabilization. The product received 510k clearance in March.

joimax® founder and CEO Wolfgang Ries from Karlsruhe, Germany, was invited as the keynote speaker for the Practical Clinic session “Invention and Innovation in Neuro- and Spine Surgery”. His one hour lecture on the first day of the AANS meeting presented a compelling picture on how joimax® evolved since 2001 when the company was founded. Key products and technologies were presented as well which led to engaged discussions after the lecture. Teodoro Forcht-Dagi, Co-Director of the session, commented: „joimax® is a remarkable example of an innovative start-up company that evolved to a successful mid-size local company. Its efforts to work with surgeons and refine MISS technology for the safety and benefit of patients are admirable. A large part of its success is attributable to the combination of technical quality and meticulous training. The company’s contribution to the development of MISS is huge.”

„The AANS Annual Meeting is extremely worthwhile to be at.” emphasized Wolfgang Ries. “For joimax® it was a great opportunity to interact with neurosurgeons and to discuss our well-established MISS techniques and products – made in Germany.”