The study involved 24 sheep which underwent a posterolateral fusion procedure at L5-L6, with autograft placed between the transverse processes.
Twelve received the Aspen device and 12 received a bilateral pedicle screw-rod construct.
The CT analysis within 6 months after surgery revealed that 12 sheep with Aspen device showed bridging bone on at least one side and only 7 sheep with pedicle screw group showed the same.
The Fixation System uses a proprietary spiked fixation plate designed to be rigidly affixed to the spinous processes with the use of specialized surgical instrumentation.
The central barrel allows the device to share the weight found in the lumbar and thoracic spine, while its hollow and fenestrated design serves as a bone graft containment chamber to facilitate fusion.
The Aspen system is intended for single level use in the thoracic or lumbar spine (T1-S1) for the treatment of degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, spinal trauma or spinal tumor.
