Hyprevention
Improving the Quality of Life

As the human body grows older, the strong bone structures that once enabled seamless biomechanics, are vulnerable to fractures. According to a report, the number of hip fractures annually worldwide has exceeded 2 million and will reach 6 million in 2015. The situation is grave for the growing and aging population who are at high risk of pathological fractures. Despite the technological advances, a potential solution to avoid contralateral hip fracture with associated morbidity and costs did not materialize.

Cécile Vienney, an avid innovator in medical device development arena, and three expert surgeons realized that hip fracture not only increased the patient’s dependence on external assistance but also the mortality rate to 60 percent after the second fracture, which is alarming for both the patients and doctors. Cécile strongly believes her extensive experience could help such patients retain their autonomy and improve the quality of life. The genesis of Hyprevention was a natural progression to advance her belief and resolve to deliver leading-edge implantable medical devices that prevent hip and vertebral compression fractures. “The idea was to find a solution to this issue for the elderly people; Hyprevention is here to address such unmet clinical needs,” begins Cécile, Founder and CEO of Hyprevention.

Hyprevention’s first breakthrough innovation in the realm of implantable medical devices is Y-STRUT^®, a reinforcer to the biomechanical performance of the proximal femur. The brainchild of Cécile and surgeons, Y-STRUT^® aims to reduce the casualties due to contralateral fractures primarily for the senior citizens. “Y-STRUT^® delivers instant reinforcement to the proximal femur of patients at risk of osteoporotic fracture and impedes pathological fracture,” explains Cécile.

The implantable medical device has proved beneficial in percutaneous internal fixation of proximal femur and is available in diverse sizes to fit patient’s anatomy.

Y-STRUT^® brings in a combination of its unique shape, cannulas’ PEEK (polyetheretherketone) polymer composition, and PMMA bone cement that allows bone anchoring. Designed for traumatology and oncology, the device implantation follows a minimally invasive procedure that involves two small incisions on the thigh and instrumentation specifically developed for safe implantation. Furthermore, Y-STRUT^® is designed in order to be reproducible and clinically efficient. Following Y-STRUT^®’s success in practical usage across France, the commercial team has started to develop new markets in Europe like Spain and Switzerland, and Brazil. Considering the performance of this new technique, Hyprevention has recently developed V-STRUT©, a unique posterior anchorage that provides vertebral endplate support. The V-STRUT© transpedicular vertebral system is indicated to treat vertebral compression fracture due to osteoporosis or tumorous bone lesions in the thoracic or lumbar spine by optimal loading redistribution. The medical device also consists of two PEEK-based polymers and PMMA bone cement, which are implanted through a percutaneous procedure with a dedicated instrumentation kit for an easy and safe surgical technique. Hyprevention invents the unique STRUTPLASTY^® technique.

What truly sets the Pessac, France-based company apart is its close collaboration with its global user base that consists of surgeons from various fields including orthopedics, spine, and neurology, which helps them improve their products to best meet the clients’ and patients’ requirements. Hyprevention has also partnered with various major distributors across the globe such as Acuña y Fombona in Spain and 4Life Healthcare Innovation in Brazil. In an instance, Cécile highlights, Y-STRUT^® was able to help a bed-ridden oncologic patient get back to normal life within a few hours. The product has also displayed its effectiveness in aiding bone resistance to fall within the first two years of its deployment.

Hyprevention has received Y-STRUT^®’s approvals from several medical agencies due to its compliance with the European directive 93/42 and ISO 13485:2016 certification. The company has also gained approval for Y-STRUT^® with Brazil. Furthermore, they are currently collaborating with experts in the realm of ortho-geriatric medicine to gain greater knowledge about bone fragility and provide newer innovations to surgeon community for better patient care.