OTW POD

Orthopedics This Week

For over two decades, Orthopedics This Week has been the trusted voice of the orthopedic community. Now, we're bringing that same unmatched industry intelligence and network to your favorite podcast platform. Whether you're a surgeon seeking the latest surgical innovations, a medtech professional navigating market challenges, or an entrepreneur building the next breakthrough device, this podcast delivers actionable insights from the field's most influential voices.

  1. 2d ago

    OTW POD Episode 22 - Medacta

    Medacta CEO Francesco Siccardi on Doubling Down in the U.S., and the “MacGyver Mentality”. In 1996, Alberto Siccardi sold his family’s healthcare company to Baxter. The next year he got a hip replacement, came out unhappy as a patient, and in 1999 started over. That company is Medacta: more than 2,300 employees, 70+ countries, €683.8M in 2025 revenue, and still run by the family. His son Francesco Siccardi, CEO since 2018 and an engineer behind many of its products, sits down with TJ Halvorson to explain why a Swiss company is building a 430,000 sq ft headquarters, factory, and surgeon lab outside Nashville, Tennessee.

  2. Oct 22

    OTW POD Episode 21 - Meduloc

    Meduloc President and CEO Sarah Sachinis joins TJ Halvorson to discuss the company’s path from a surgeon-identified problem to FDA clearance and its initial commercial launch. Meduloc’s flexible nitinol implant is designed for small long-bone fractures, including metacarpal, forearm, clavicle, fibular and metatarsal fractures. Sachinis explains how the implant is inserted and locked, and how its design gives surgeons control over fracture rotation before final fixation.The conversation also covers what Meduloc is learning from its first cases: early surgeon feedback, instrumentation changes, training and the challenge of earning adoption for a new device. Sachinis discusses the company’s partnership with Core Medical Ventures, its first commercial hire, plans to manage inventory while refining the product, and why the alpha launch is focused on a small number of markets. She also outlines the adoption milestones Meduloc is pursuing as it prepares to scale.https://www.meduloc.com/

  3. Oct 22

    OTW POD Episode 20 - Tesa Medical

    Why is graft tension still largely based on feel in sports medicine?In this episode of Orthopedics This Week, TJ Halvorson sits down with Sean Cogan, President and CEO of TESA Medical, to discuss the company’s approach to measuring soft-tissue tension during procedures such as ACL reconstruction and MPFL repair.Cogan explains how TESA’s tensioning platform is designed to fit into existing surgical workflows while giving surgeons objective data around graft tension, isometry, anisometry, fixation, and joint behavior through range of motion.They also discuss: Why subjective tensioning creates variability between surgeons and casesEarly lab and clinical experience with the TESA platformPotential time and workflow implications in the ORThe company’s disposable and hybrid device strategyTESA’s registry and long-term data strategyThe role of AI in analyzing procedure and outcome dataTESA’s U.S. commercialization progressCurrent fundraising, hospital approvals, IP development, and next stepsTESA Medical is currently expanding its U.S. clinical footprint while developing a disposable version of its platform and building the data infrastructure around objective soft-tissue tension measurement.Learn more and connect with TESA Medical: https://www.tesamedcorp.com/

  4. Oct 22

    OTW POD Episode 19 - Edge Surgical

    When Leo Carayannopoulos first evaluated EDGe Surgical’s digital depth gauge, he saw little commercial potential. Years later, he returned to take control of the company and rebuild it.Leo joins TJ Halvorson to explain how EDGe used surgeon input to finish the product, developed universal calibration, consolidated its depth gauges into a single SKU, and relaunched at AAOS. He also discusses why the company built its own field sales team, how independent distributors fit into the model, and where EDGe is expanding beyond trauma.For device executives, the episode offers a candid look at product development, company turnarounds, and commercial execution. For surgeons, it examines how the digital depth gauge was redesigned around clinical workflow and the hidden costs associated with conventional reusable instruments.Learn more about EDGe Surgical: https://www.edgesurgical.com/

  5. Jul 3

    OTW POD Episode 18 - Dr. Christopher Dodson

    In this episode of the OTW Podcast, TJ Halvorson sits down with Christopher Dodson, MD, sports medicine orthopedic surgeon, Associate Head Orthopedic Surgeon for the Philadelphia Eagles, Head of Orthopedics at Vincera Institute, co-founder of VueFi, and a new member of the Orthopedics This Week Editorial Advisory Board.Dr. Dodson talks about the realities behind a high-volume sports medicine practice: the OR team, the mental switch that happens when surgery starts, the physical toll of operating, and why the best surgeons never lose sight of the trust patients place in them.The conversation also moves into one of the biggest questions in sports medicine: why are so many young athletes getting hurt?Dr. Dodson discusses early specialization, ACL injuries, movement patterns, and why playing multiple sports may be one of the most underrated injury-prevention tools left.He also weighs in on burnout, physician autonomy, prior authorization, physician-owned facilities, biologics, PRP, pain control, and why—despite the frustrations—orthopedic surgery remains one of the most gratifying jobs in medicine.

  6. Feb 25

    OTW POD Episode 17 - Total Joint Orthopedics

    In this episode, Robin sits down with Dr. Aaron Hofmann, an orthopedic surgeon whose four decades of innovation in large joint reconstruction have shaped the field in ways still felt today. Dr. Hofmann shares his journey from growing up on a small farm in Medina, North Dakota, to becoming a pioneering force in cementless fixation and knee system design. He reflects on how a childhood spent fixing everything himself, from farm equipment to electrical systems, laid the foundation for a career defined by mechanical thinking and creative problem solving. The conversation covers the development of the ultracongruent insert, the asymmetric tibial component, and the Natural Knee system, tracing how each innovation grew directly out of clinical challenges Dr. Hofmann encountered in practice. He also shares the story of Operation Walk Utah, the humanitarian chapter he founded to bring total joint replacement to underserved patients in El Salvador, and how the constraints of that work, limited inventory, minimal instruments, and improvised solutions, directly informed the design philosophy behind Total Joint Orthopedics. Together, Robin and Dr. Hofmann explore how TJO's universal knee, the Klassic® Knee System, with its single-instrument tray system, is built around the principle that less is more and addresses the challenges of ASCs. Dr. Hofmann discusses 10-year clinical outcomes, kinematic studies, and ongoing bone ingrowth research. The episode closes with a look ahead, and Dr. Hofmann's view on the future of orthopedics - making excellent care simpler, more accessible, and available to far more of the world's patients.

    OTW POD Episode 17 - Total Joint Orthopedics

  7. Feb 18

    OTW POD Episode 16 - Orthopedic Driven Imaging

    In this episode, TJ sits down with Scott Banks and Scott "Mac" McCaig, who are revolutionizing how surgeons understand and visualize joint motion.Scott Banks shares his remarkable 40-year journey from a Cleveland kid whose dad suffered through constant knee pain to becoming a pioneering biomechanics researcher at MIT and the University of Florida, and one of the rare non-surgeon members of the prestigious Knee Society. He recounts the pivotal 1989 moment when he first used fluoroscopy to capture knee motion in real-time, collaborating with orthopedic legends like Dick Laskin, Leo Whiteside, and Martin Roche to influence implant designs at companies from Mako to Smith & Nephew. At 60, facing a personal health scare, Banks made the bold decision to walk away from tenure to finally bring three decades of research out of academic journals and into clinical practice.Scott "Mac" McCaig brings the industry expertise to make that vision real, explaining how his journey from chemical engineering through Smith & Nephew, Wright Medical, and back again taught him that hardware in the OR is the key that tech giants like Google and Apple have been missing in healthcare. Together, they're building Orthopedic Driven Imaging (ODI), a company that has the ability to upgrade 23,000 C-arms across the country while developing AI-powered systems that capture how joints actually move during weight-bearing activities, not just static snapshots. They discuss their FDA-approved surgical imaging system already in use, their upcoming Academy debut of AI-enabled preoperative planning tools, and their bold prediction that within five years, surgeons will routinely prescribe dynamic kinematic exams the same way they order CT scans today, using digital twins to simulate procedures before ever entering the OR.To learn more about ODI, visit their website at https://linkly.link/2am6S.

    OTW POD Episode 16 - Orthopedic Driven Imaging

  8. Feb 11

    OTW POD Episode 15 - 3D Systems

    In this episode, TJ sits down with Ben Johnson from 3D Systems, who leads their medical device division and brings a fascinating perspective shaped by his journey from chemical engineering into the cutting edge of additive manufacturing. Ben shares how his early work on drug-eluting stents and transcatheter heart valves led him to discover the transformative potential of 3D printing when he needed patient-specific anatomies for bench testing, ultimately bringing him to 3D Systems in 2014. The conversation explores the evolution of additive manufacturing in orthopedics, from the company's founding in the mid-1980s with the invention of stereolithography to today's sophisticated capabilities across titanium, PEEK, and cobalt chrome materials. Ben provides valuable insights into the current market dynamics, explaining how titanium has surged from being overshadowed by PEEK a decade ago to now holding roughly half the spine market, driven by its superior osseointegration properties when 3D printed with porous structures. They dive deep into emerging technologies, particularly the exciting developments in HA-coated PEEK implants that combine the mechanical advantages and radiolucency of PEEK with enhanced biological integration. Ben discusses 3D Systems' recent white paper demonstrating successful osseointegration in both cortical and cancellous bone, and why he believes this technology will see heavy research and investment over the next five to ten years. The conversation also addresses the realities of personalization in orthopedics, with Ben offering a measured perspective on why point-of-care printing in hospitals faces significant regulatory and cost hurdles, while centralized hybrid models show more immediate promise. Perhaps most valuable for listeners is Ben's explanation of how 3D Systems partners across the entire spectrum of companies, from startups with napkin sketches to major OEMs. He details their comprehensive capabilities, from concept ideation and prototyping through validation, manufacturing, and even technology transfer, emphasizing their mission to solve unmet clinical needs whether that's faster osseointegration, oncology reconstruction, or supply chain challenges. It's a compelling look at how a manufacturing partner can accelerate innovation from concept to commercialization in orthopedics.

    OTW POD Episode 15 - 3D Systems
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About

For over two decades, Orthopedics This Week has been the trusted voice of the orthopedic community. Now, we're bringing that same unmatched industry intelligence and network to your favorite podcast platform. Whether you're a surgeon seeking the latest surgical innovations, a medtech professional navigating market challenges, or an entrepreneur building the next breakthrough device, this podcast delivers actionable insights from the field's most influential voices.

Information

  • Creator
    Orthopedics This Week
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Orthopedics This Week
  • Show Website
    OTW POD