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Since launching in 2014, OSSIO has focused on challenging the orthopedic industry’s reliance on metal implants with the introduction of OSSIOfiber, a material technology that provides secure fixation and fully integrates into native anatomy without leaving permanent hardware behind. With an expanding portfolio, OSSIO is positioned at the forefront of providing fixation solutions that don’t just stabilize bone but actively participate in the healing process. Orahn Preiss-Bloom, OSSIO Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, discussed the company’s groundbreaking technology and why it’s ideally suited to meet increasing demands for joint preservation and minimally invasive surgical solutions.
When you launched OSSIO, you focused on the foot and ankle space. Why were those applications important?
When you have a compelling technology, it’s always tempting to apply it everywhere. But the first indications you choose are incredibly important. We were fortunate to connect early on with a few foot and ankle surgeons who were immediately drawn to the OSSIOfiber technology.
Foot and ankle procedures involve a high volume of fusions, so the idea of creating a bony bridge, which is essentially what OSSIOfiber forms, was very attractive. The next question, especially as a small company, was whether we could get OSSIOfiber into surgeons’ hands. There’s a strong network of independent distributors in foot and ankle, and that gave us the ability to engage quickly, gather feedback and begin commercialization.
How does your technology contribute to making excellent outcomes even better?
That comes down to strategic focus. We believe every surgery could benefit from OSSIOfiber, but we prioritize areas where there’s a clearly defined clinical problem. Some procedures have hardware removal rates in the 20% to 30% range. That’s significant. If a patient is likely to require a second surgery just to remove hardware, there’s a clear opportunity to improve their care.
We also look at applications where metal implants aren’t ideal. Surgeons may hesitate to place metal near or within a joint in areas like the subchondral space. But surgeons could be more willing to use an OSSIOfiber implant there because they know the material will resorb and the surrounding bone will remodel nicely.
How does OSSIOfiber provide initial fixation before transitioning to bone over time?
What’s particularly interesting about our technology is that remodeling is largely driven by composition, while mechanical performance is driven by design. The material itself consists of mineral fibers bound together with a biopolymer.
From a mechanical standpoint, however, each implant must be designed differently. Traditional materials like metal or PEEK are isotropic, meaning their mechanical properties are the same in all directions. A fiber-reinforced system like OSSIOfiber is anisotropic — the fibers must be oriented according to the mechanical loads the implant will experience.
Each implant has unique mechanical demands, so we perform detailed analyses of the geometry and loading conditions and then maximize the reinforcing aspect of the fibers in areas of greatest mechanical need.
Why did OSSIO expand into sports medicine, and what excites you about that space?
Some of the products we initially developed for foot and ankle applications began to be adopted in sports procedures, which created an organic entry point. Much of our effort right now is concentrated around the knee for procedures like tibial tubercle osteotomies.
There’s a strong movement among physicians, especially knee specialists, to offer joint-preserving solutions as the first treatment option. We see a growing ecosystem of complementary technologies in this space and often see our products used alongside other innovations, particularly in areas like soft tissue augmentation. The trend toward the use of regenerative technologies to preserve joints is gaining real momentum and will only grow stronger in the years ahead.
