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Ryan Kellar, Sr. Product Manager: Welcome to Studio X here at Arthrex. Today, we're joined by Dr. Stephanie Logterman. Thank you for joining us today. So pediatric orthopedics is such a unique space. What excites you most about the advancements we're making and seeing in minimally invasive arthroscopy, and specifically around the use of Nano arthroscopy technology?
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Stephanie Logterman, MD: Absolutely. Thank you, guys, so much for having me today. As you know, pediatric patients are a unique patient population to care for. Nano scope technology, being smaller than the traditional scope, has really been a game changer and a value add to taking care of these pediatric patients, as it allows for the same high-quality visualization with much smaller instrumentation. I'm able to see everything I would with a traditional scope; however, I can make a smaller incision. I can maneuver much easier in a tighter, smaller space, and then the new instrumentation that you have to accompany this has really allowed me to care for my patients much better, as I'm able to use the smaller instruments to do all the work that I need to do inside their various joints.
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Matthew Johnson, Product Manager: Before Nano arthroscopy, can you talk a little bit about traditional arthroscopy and what were some of the biggest challenges around, whether it's the size or rigidity of the scope and instruments, when you're trying to use that for your pediatric patient population?
[00:01:27 - 00:01:56]
Stephanie Logterman, MD: Especially in pediatric patients, you have a small joint with a larger instrument. The first thing that always worries me or makes me nervous is any potential iatrogenic cartilage injury that instrumentation accidentally, like, dinging or roughing up the cartilage, right? These are young children; they need nice cartilage for the rest of their lives. And so anything that's going to kind of help make that safer and easier for me is obviously going to be very beneficial, whether with the camera or the instrumentation.
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Matthew Johnson, Product Manager: Were those some of the reasons that you looked into trying Nano arthroscopy for the first time, or was that something else that kind of led you to this technology?
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Stephanie Logterman, MD: You know, I didn't even know, like, probably if you talked to me a little over a year ago, I'm like a Nano what. You know, since the products had been presented to me, I kind of immediately saw its value, and I just take care of such a diverse patient population. But particularly the young guys, I get referred in from kind of all over greater central Florida to take care of these smaller knees. And then after my first couple of uses, initially with the zero-degree scope, the learning curve there was fairly minimal, but it does take a little bit of adjusting to. Usually, within the first few minutes of using it, you kind of get the hang of it if you're an experienced arthroscopist.
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Ryan Kellar, Sr. Product Manager: You know, it's something to mention too, probably your first time you saw Nano from 1.0 to 2.0. You know, probably that 2.0 leap forward in visualization quality and performance upgrades probably allowed you to feel more comfortable with the zero-degree scope. Can you talk about what you've seen from NanoNeedle scope 2.0 versus 1.0?
[00:02:56 - 00:03:57]
Stephanie Logterman, MD: Because the technological advancement you made within, I would say, in last year in terms of going from Nano 1.0 to 2.0 has been dramatic. Just using these cases probably within the last few months, I've really gotten to use more of the, as the 2.0 has been rolled out, I’ve gotten to use it a few times. It's awesome. Like you can't even tell you're not using a traditional scope. It's pretty, it's actually incredible. So, I will say from the instrumentation perspective, some of the trickier pathology that's unique to pediatrics, such as a discoid meniscus where it's a little trying to saucerize or repair, especially that anterior horn, can be a challenge to get to and being able to maneuver and change the angle or orientation of the small joints, whether it's the biter, the grasper, etcetera, has been so helpful in managing that pathology. So, it's not only smaller, but it's also now malleable and you being able to change it, it's just made my life so much easier taking care of these patients and these issues.
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Ryan Kellar, Sr. Product Manager: One question I have for you. So, when you mentioned smaller, I think from a surgeon adoption perspective, they may think smaller is going to take longer. Can you talk a little bit about the efficiency with some of these tools?
[00:04:08 - 00:04:37]
Stephanie Logterman, MD: Absolutely. Starting even from the setup, right? You're not throwing off a thousand cords. It's quick, plug it in, let's rock and roll. You're using less water and other resources. If anything, it's going to help your efficiency. It's not harder to, you know, from a case perspective, it doesn't take me longer or make my life more difficult. I'm able to do everything I need to do just as quickly and efficiently, if not more, with all the new Nano technology than I was previously with a traditional scope.
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Matthew Johnson, Product Manager: First, I think we just found our new marketing slogan: plug it in and let's rock and roll. Yeah, sounds pretty good to me.
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Stephanie Logterman, MD: From a surgeon perspective, I think Nano is awesome and continues to evolve. Where do you guys see Nano in the next five to 10 years?
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Ryan Kellar, Sr. Product Manager: Yeah, so you know, obviously, you've seen the rapid innovation cycle with Nano. First release and first camera in 2019. We just released 2.0, which is our third iteration. So the product performance in that leap forward is going to continue to occur. I think something we're going to continue is collaboration on, you know, specific clinical outcome research. That's something, you know, we're hearing, we're seeing the patient benefit out there. We're even seeing the patient and the consumer really seek out Nano arthroscopy for this less invasive treatment. So I think a big focus of, you know, our team is to really what is our highest level outcome impact research that we can start, you know, working and partnering with our surgeons and facilities on. Can you talk a little bit about the research pathway within the pediatric side of things and you know, how Arthrex can help really push future outcome, you know, decisions within the pediatric care?
[00:05:48 - 00:07:09]
Stephanie Logterman, MD: Absolutely. I think research is a team sport and having a good partner is really helpful. As we talked about before, pediatric research has kind of been, I wouldn't say neglected, but not quite as, I mean, it's a little bit trickier patient population to deal with than the adult side from a research perspective. And partnering with Arthrex has been such, just a great opportunity for me. I think, you guys are so responsive and enthusiastic, and that's what you're looking for, is like, any idea I come up with, you guys are like supportive of how can we make it better, but then also quick to adjust and change. And I think that's, especially when you're dealing with industry, that adaptability and willingness to change is really what sets Arthrex apart in terms of being a good partner. And then, you know, I think just from a, like, an enthusiasm perspective, which seems kind of like, not cheesy, but you know, is equally as important as people are going to have their time and the energy and just passion for it for the research side of things and wanting to make things better, I think is really unmatched at Arthrex. And again, I'm part of lots of pediatric research organizations, and Arthrex has really been kind of front and center with working with those organizations to help really push the research forward because we really can't do it without you guys. And for it to be mutually beneficial, I think is also, you know, kind of works for everybody.
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Matthew Johnson, Product Manager: And you hit on kind of how the pediatric side from innovation, from research, may have been neglected a little bit, especially from industry innovation. And that's something that helps us bring this enthusiasm, is that we felt that too. But it goes back to our mission statement, of we want to help surgeons treat their patients better. And that statement isn't based on age population; it's every patient. So we're really excited, we're enthusiastic, as you said, to really help target this space with you.
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Ryan Kellar, Sr. Product Manager: Dr. Logterman, we want to thank you so much for sharing your experience and insights today. It's clear Nano arthroscopy is making a real difference, not just for patients, but for families and surgeons as well. We appreciate your time and expertise, and we look forward to working with you on new ways that this technology continues to shape pediatric care.
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