Accentus Medical specialises in development and commercial application of innovative, proprietary technologies incorporating antimicrobial silver ions into the surface of implantable devices, to assist in reducing the risk of biofilm formation on the surface of the implant, and hence helping to reduce the incidence and severity of near-term post-operative infections following implant surgery.
Silver ions are well known for their bactericidal properties and the use of silver on medical devices has previously been approved by worldwide regulatory bodies on an expanding range of products. Silver ions at low doses will eliminate bacterial cells with no toxicological effect on the human patient. By comparison with antibiotics, silver ions have been shown to experience only very limited susceptibility to antimicrobial resistance.
- Agluna® was developed by Accentus Medical scientists to provide an innovative surface modification whereby silver ions are incorporated into the surface of anodised titanium implants. The concentration of silver ions added to the implant surfaces by the Agluna®
process is carefully controlled and is well below concentrations that would cause any potential toxicological side effects. The resulting Agluna® implant surface has been demonstrated to provide a durable and wear resistant surface, and has been in successful clinical use since 2006(11).
- Acusure Ag® is an innovative coating in which antimicrobial silver ions are chemically incorporated into the A
cusure® hydroxyapatite plasma spray coating. The surface concentration of silver ions is carefully controlled during the manufacturing process so as to maintain the essential osseointegrating efficacy and marketing aesthetics of the hydroxyapatite coating, while also providing sufficient silver ions to provide a local antimicrobial effect in the vicinity of the clinical implant. Acusure Ag® has been successfully used since 2015 in an expanding range of custom orthopaedic devices.
Agluna® and Acusure Ag® coatings have to date been applied to assist with clinical outcomes in complex surgical fields with relatively high infection risk, such as limb salvage and amputation devices. Accentus Medical is actively engaging in commercial partnering arrangements with a focus on developing future clinical applications to more mainstream revision and primary joint replacement fields.