Author: Antonio Berlen

The Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Announces Agreement With joimax® To Support Creation and Launch of SMISS Registry for Endoscopic Spine Surgery

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

San Diego, Oct. 20, 2011 – The Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (SMISS), San Diego, CA and joimax®, Karlsruhe, Germany announced today the signing of an agreement to support the SMISS Registry as a founding sponsor for creation and launch of the SMISS Spine Registry for Minimally Invasive Endoscopic Spine Surgery. The SMISS Spine Registry was designed to collect valuable data concerning decreased hospitalization, recovery times, and complication rates of endoscopic spine procedures, as well as increased quality of life measures, subject satisfaction, and cost effectiveness. In today’s rapidly changing healthcare climate, it is imperative to ensure the ongoing availability of this data regarding efficiencies of care and quality of outcomes.

SMISS has assembled an outstanding research team with extensive experience within the spine field. The Principal Investigator for the Registry, Choll Kim, M. D., Ph.D, Executive Director and Board of Directors Member of SMISS states, “We are excited to partner with joimax® in the launch of the SMISS Registry, a project that will produce the relevant data collection and management necessary for the continued growth of minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery. The Society will lead the way in the collection of minimally invasive spine surgery outcomes and cost data. SMISS is positioned to become the model for successful spine research.”

“joimax® and SMISS are ideal partners to begin this important project in spinal endoscopy. The data collected will assist both parties in furthering the development of minimally invasive endoscopic spinal surgery, which is a great benefit to patients around the world,” said Wolfgang Ries, CEO and Founder of joimax. “We are pleased to provide funding for this important project.”

This three year, multi-centered project will commence patient enrollment in late 2011. The Registry is expected to enroll a minimum of 250 patients during the first phase of the project.

joimax® hosts SpineWeek symposium, leads live surgery broadcast during CAOS-NASS

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Karlsruhe, Germany and Singapore, Chengdu/Shanghai, China (May 25, 2016) – joimax®, the global developer and marketer of technologies and treatment methods for minimally invasive endoscopic spinal surgery, recently hosted an educational symposium and exhibited at SpineWeek in Singapore. SpineWeek takes place every four years and is viewed as one of the most important congresses, representing numerous international society leaders.

“The decision to participate in this congress was the right step to demonstrate our presence in the Asian region,” says Wolfgang Ries, CEO and founder of joimax®. “This year, there was a clear focus on endoscopic treatments by the participating societies, which created a strong interest in our lunch symposium. Approximately 200 attendees gathered to learn about the techniques of endoscopic minimally invasive spine surgery and the benefits of these techniques to both the surgeon and their patients,” continued Ries.

To further validate the company’s expansion and presence in China, joimax® participated in the 9th Congress of the Chinese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons – North American Spine Society (CAOS/NASS) meeting in Chengdu, China. The company was also involved with the Master Techniques in Spine Surgery Workshop, held on May 20, 2016 in Shanghai, China. Dr. Ralf Wagner, of the Ligamenta Spine Center in Frankfurt, Germany, led the technique-focused workshop and surgery, which was broadcast live to the meeting in Chengdu, as well as online to 30,000 Chinese surgeons.

joimax® Organizes its First Online Endoscopic Spine Symposium

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Karlsruhe (GER) — joimax®, the Germany-based market leader of technologies and training methods for full-endoscopic minimally-invasive spinal surgery, held its first online global symposium, “Endoscopic Spine Surgery – Indications, Technology and Limitations”, at its headquarters in the Training and Education Center (TEC) in Karlsruhe-Germany, on April 24-25, 2020.

In view of the coronavirus restrictions introduced by many governments, in March,  joimax® began holding weekly webinars, in partnership with key surgeons, to demonstrate the latest endoscopic techniques. The training sessions culminated with a two-day Symposium, full of live discussions and video demonstrations, scheduled during Western and Eastern time zones.

joimax first online endoscopic spine symposium, April 2020

On April 24, joimax® Founder and CEO Wolfgang Ries, moderated a panel with faculty members Ralf Wagner, MD (Ligamenta Spine Center Frankfurt-Germany) and Christoph Hofstetter, MD, PhD (University of Washington Medicine, Neurosurgery Department, Seattle/USA). The following day, faculty member, Junseok Bae, MD (President of Wooridul Spine Hospital Seoul, South Korea), joined the panel.

On both days, the agenda included a theoretical part focused on transforaminal and interlaminar indications, and the general possibilities of endoscopy from lumbar to thoracic to cervical, as well as a hands-on lab portion. In the wet lab, Dr. Ralf Wagner demonstrated the joimax® product application of TESSYS® and iLESSYS® in specific indications. Moreover, there were presentations of Intracs® em , the first electromagnetic system for endoscopic spine applications that can navigate instruments directly at the tip. This navigation system combines lateral and AP images of the C-arm with CT scan, providing surgeons with most accurate views of the target region.

The Symposium also featured special guests: Dr. Menno Iprenburg (Iprenburg Spine Clinic, Veenhuizen, Netherlands) and Prof. Alastair Gibson (The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Scotland); both board members of ESPINEA® Academy, who gave their valued input, based on their long-lasting experience.

“This is the  future of digital education and a great way to virtually meet and learn,” stated Dr. Iprenburg.  Prof. Gibson added, “excellent Symposium; it couldn’t get any better”.

The Symposium marked a major milestone, with 430 participants. Surgeons from all over the world joined this unique online education program and stimulating Q&A session.

When safe, joimax® will transition back to on-site workshops and trainings, but in the  meantimewill continue with its attention-grabbing online webinars.

joimax® at the autumn congresses: EuroSpine Liverpool and NASS New Orleans

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Karlsruhe/Irvine, October 29th 2013

Dear partners and friends,

it was our great pleasure to launch and present our latest product developments at the major spine congresses: EuroSpine as the most important spine congress on the European level and NASS as the most renowned and biggest one in the US. Please find here some impressions of both of the venues in Liverpool and New Orleans.

At both congresses our novel EndoLIF® and Percusys® (both not yet FDA cleared) technologies for endoscopic lumbar interbody fusion and percutaneous fixation were in the limelight, besides the earlier in the year launched CESSYS® and Multiuse RT systems.

We are now looking forward to welcoming you at our booth at the Annual Meeting of SMISS November 1 to 3, 2013 and DWG, the German Spine Society, December 5 to 7, 2013. See you in Las Vegas and Frankfurt!

EUROSPINE 2013, Liverpool

NASS 2013, New Orleans

joimax® celebrates its 10th anniversary presence with 900 users in China and reports a jump in Q1-2017 sales

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Karlsruhe, Germany – April 11th, 2017 – joimax®, the German based market leader of technologies and training methods for endoscopic minimally invasive spinal surgery, just celebrated its 10 years’ birthday in China with an outstanding 3 days event in Chongqing. More than 900 surgeons out of 2,000 users in China only took part in live surgeries, workshops and a scientific program on endoscopic spinal technologies including MISS fusion techniques. Besides, joimax® organized the presentation of its latest systems like the TESSYS® ISeeU and iLESSYS® Delta in product trainings as well as newest tools for endoscopic treatment in an exhibition hall. The program was supported by joimax® Faculty Members from Europe, USA and other countries. In the course of the meeting a Chinese Faculty Team with 13 members was inaugurated by Wolfgang Ries, Founder and CEO of joimax® and Qin-Guang You, President of joimax® China. ”Due to the growing education and training needs in the Asian region the time has come to form a local team for this important market”, explains Wolfgang Ries. “It is a great honor to lead this team and to support the further growth of joimax®”, says the head of the Faculty Team, Prof. Yue Zhou from the Third Military Medical University in Chongqing. He was awarded with the joimax® Handshake Award in Gold for his exceptional commitment and the members of the group received the joimax® Handshake Award in Silver.

After very satisfying growing sales figures in 2016 (31 % growth vs. 2015), joimax® is proud to announce a jump in sales in the first quarter 2017. Consolidated figures show an increase of 60 % compared to the same period of last year. “This is a very encouraging development, showing the continuing expansion and growth of the group”, states Wolfgang Ries, Founder and CEO of joimax®.

joimax® Recieves FDA Clearance to Market EndoLIF® Delta-Cage and DoubleWedge-Cage in the USA

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Karlsruhe (GER) — German-based joimax®, the market leader in technologies and training methods for full-endoscopic and minimally invasive spinal surgery, is excited to announce that it has received FDA clearance to market the EndoLIF® Delta-Cage and EndoLIF® DoubleWedge-Cage in the United States. Delta-Cages and DoubleWedge-Cages are intended for intervertebral body fusion procedures for various diseases of the lumbar spine, such as degenerative disc disease.

joimax cage family EndoLIF

Now in its 20th anniversary year, joimax® sets another milestone by providing a family of 3D printed titanium cages. The complete EndoLIF® product portfolio consists of the Delta-Cage, the DoubleWedge-Cage, and the O/On-Cage. All three models are designed with special features:

  • 3D printed titanium for excellent bone ingrowth, fillable with bone or bone substitute material, pre- or post-insertiony
  • Anatomical shape and lordotic correction options for OLIF, TLIF, and PLIF procedures
  • “Over-the-wire” implantation for optimal targeted positioning in the intervertebral disc space
  • Endoscopic control of all surgical steps due to the EndoLIF® platform technology

“It is impressive how well these cages ensure primary stability, especially the DoubleWedge-Cage,” says Dr. Ralf Wagner, head surgeon and founder of the Ligamenta Spine Centre in Frankfurt.

Many other experts including, Dr. Florian Zentz, head surgeon of the spine center in Tutzing (Munich), Dr. Ricardo Casal Grau, orthospine surgeon from Madrid, and Dr. J. N. Alastair Gibson, spinal surgeon from Edinburgh, supported the development of the joimax® cages.

“With FDA clearance of two of our cages, our EndoLIF® platform gets more complete; the next major step in endoscopic spinal surgery is endoscopically-assisted fusion,” says joimax® Founder and CEO Wolfgang Ries. “More and more centers are proving the efficacy of these procedures in studies, demonstrating once again the major benefits of endoscopy in fusion. So far, our cages are well established in Europe and in selected centers in Asia, and now we are entering the USA, the biggest market for spinal fusion”.

joimax® moves into larger premises

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

joimax® invests in the future and moves into new offices in the US and in Germany

Irvine, USA / Karlsruhe, Germany – 14. Juni 2010 – The medical devices company
joimax® GmbH is moving into new premises both in Germany and the US. „Growth requires space“ had already been the motto of the last company move back in 2005.
The US market has an enormous growth potential. This is why the subsidiary joimax® Inc. is moving from Campbell to Irvine, California, one of high-tech industry centers in the United States. To meet the growing requirements of the US market the joimax® headquarter in Karlsruhe, Germany is also moving into bigger offices. President and founder Wolfgang Ries states: “This step of expansion was necessary to comply with the growing requirements towards our organisation.” “The new premises are a perfect operational basis to be able to cover the growing demand for joimax technologies in the US“, explains Chip Stevens, CEO of joimax Inc.

The doubling of the operational areas is also a landmark decision with respect to the ongoing product launches of the company. joimax® is preparing the launch of the Shrill® in Europe which will shortly be followed by the US launch. This shaver and drill system for the ablation of bone and soft tissue under endoscopic view will be completed by a new pump system called Versicon® and an HD endoscopy system. Following the motto „joimax goes HD“ the so-called Camsource® HD Twister camera system, new HD flat screen monitors and HD endoscopes will be brought to market.

joimax® at the AANS in Washington, D.C.

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

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.”

Rapid company growth prompts joimax® Inc. to move its US headquarters to a new, larger state-of-the-art facility

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Irvine, CA – November 5, 2018 – joimax®, the Germany-based market leader of technologies and training methods for full-endoscopic minimally-invasive spinal surgery, announces the move of its US headquarters to a new 26,000-square-foot facility in Irvine, California, beginning November 5, 2018.
“With the move to the new building, the steadily growing need for endoscopic procedures among patients and physician communities can now be efficiently met,” states Wolfgang Ries, Founder and CEO of the joimax® Group. “Growth requires space — the continued demand in the US market creates a major opportunity which joimax® Inc. is addressing with the expansion of its US organization.”

The new office is located at 140 Technology Drive, Suite 150 in the city of Irvine and includes a brand new training and education center. The center offers a demonstration and wet lab training room displaying all joimax® systems and products, as well as a big audience room for didactics presentations. The first workshop will be held at the center on Nov 30th – Dec 1st, 2018.

In addition, the new facility will handle all corporate and business functions. Over the next year, joimax® Inc. will add more clinical support, marketing, and sales personnel in order to face the fast growing demand for endoscopic spine procedures.

Expansion of training offerings with technology from Corin and joimax®at the ORSI ACADEMY

Posted on by Antonio Berlen

Melle, Belgium –(ORSI ACADEMY)- Orsi Academy, the unique training & expertise centre for robotic and minimally invasive surgery in Melle, is once more enhancing its training facilities. With the support of the European Regional Development Fund, made available by VLAIO, it invested in revolutionizing robotic technology from Corin and latest navigation systems from joimax®. This equipment allows Orsi Academy to further expand its offer in clinical disciplines such as navigated spinal surgery, neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery, particularly in knee and hip replacements. With the investment, Orsi Academy continues to contribute to improve and increase the quality and safety of our modern healthcare system.

“With the investment, Orsi continues to improve and increase the quality and safety of our modern healthcare system.”

Corin’s revolutional orthopaedic OMNIBotics System is designed to enhance precision to the balancing and implantation of knee replacements. This partnership will undoubtedly elevate the standards in training in orthopaedic surgical procedures.

Simultaneously, through a partnership with joimax®, Orsi Academy aims to pioneer advancements in spinal surgery. joimax®’s Intracs System is a smart navigation system based on electromagnetic tracking ensuring an easy and safe access to any spinal target.

The grant from the European Regional Development Fund plays a crucial role in financing the acquisition of these technologies, marking a significant milestone for Orsi Academy. This partnership not only integrates two remarkable platforms into its robotic family but also expands the training offerings, providing healthcare professionals with hands-on experience in the latest minimally invasive techniques.

Giovanni Tegami, Managing Director Corin Belgium

“Corin is honored to collaborate with Orsi Academy in advancing orthopaedic surgery training. Our robotic technology aims to enhance outcomes by restoring proper soft tissue balance and leg alignment, crucial factors in knee replacement success. Through this partnership, we’re eager to contribute to elevating standards in orthopaedic surgical procedures.”

Wolfgang Ries, Founder and CEO of the joimax® Group

“Being able to offer the Intracs® EM navigation system at any course held at the Orsi Academy for training and research needs is huge. It allows participants to directly experience the ease of use in endoscopic spine surgery and learn the difference of non-navigated and fully navigated procedures significantly driving the accelerating adoption rate of endoscopy in spine, which sees very fast growing high level literature on new applications, but also on major patient and surgeon benefits!”

Prof. Dr. Thomas Luyckx, Medical Leadership Orthopaedics Orsi Academy

“We are excited about the possibilities and advancements this collaboration will bring. This grant and collaboration reaffirms our dedication to pushing the boundaries of orthopaedic medical education.”