Allendale, New Jersey, USA – April 11, 2016 – Stryker’s Spine division today announced the acquisition of the SafeWire product portfolio, including the Y-Wire guidewire and Tiger Jamshidi Needle Family for use in minimally invasive spine surgery. The acquisition is highly complementary to Stryker’s current spine product portfolio and is aligned with the Spine division’s strategy of expanding its product offering for minimally-invasive spine surgery.
Acquired from SafeWire, the Y-Wire features a patented feature that is designed to mitigate potential wire-based complications, such as inadvertent advancement of the guidewire through bone, accidental pullout, kinking, or wire migration. In addition, with reduced surgical steps and technical ease, the Y-Wire helps to optimize workflow for minimally invasive spine cases, and to significantly reduce patient and surgeon exposure to fluoroscopy.1
Brad Paddock, president of Stryker’s Spine division, said the introduction of the SafeWire portfolio reflects Stryker’s ongoing commitment to patient safety and to providing surgeons with innovative technology needed to treat patients undergoing minimally-invasive spine surgery. “We are excited to bring this important complementary technology into the Stryker family,” Paddock said. “This acquisition increases our competitive advantage as we broaden our product line and extend our customer base among teaching facilities, competitive accounts, and existing SafeWire customers.” 
About Stryker
Stryker is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies and, together with our customers, we are driven to make healthcare better. The Company offers a diverse array of innovative products and services in Orthopaedics, Medical and Surgical, and Neurotechnology and Spine that help improve patient and hospital outcomes. Stryker is active in over 100 countries around the world. Please contact us for more information at www.stryker.com.
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1. MITLF-JA-2 Significant reduction in fluoroscopy time and radiation dosage utilizing an innovative guide wire in the placement of percutaneous MIS pedicle screws, Zavatsky JM, Waddell B.