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Contacts: Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Viscogliosi Bros, LLC (212) 583-9700 ext. 101
Chris Storer, Creative Partners (203) 952-6403

SMALL BONE INNOVATIONS LAUNCHES ITS UNVERSAL HAND SYSTEM™ – A MULTI-USE, MODULAR HAND FIXATION SYSTEM

New York, NY: November 8, 2005 - Small Bone Innovations, LLC (SBI) announced the market launch today of its SBI Universal Hand System™ that earlier this year received 510(k) pre-market notification approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
 
The SBI Universal Hand System™ (UHS) is the first proprietary product system introduced by the company’s Internal Fixation Business Unit and was unveiled together with a new wrist plating technology at presentations given to surgeons attending the annual convention in San Antonio of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.
 
The UHS was organically developed by surgeons in conjunction with the engineering staff of the former Envision Manufacturing, Inc., one of three manufacturing companies acquired by SBI during the past year.
 
The UHS materials platform is ‘cold-worked’ 316L stainless steel, consisting of three implant modules (1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, and 2.4mm) with full instrumentation and a K-wire module with color coded titanium wires in various sizes and styles. The system features low profile plates in a wide variety of anatomically designed sculptured plates, including three different “ladder” or H-plates in each of the three modules and scalloped compression straight L-, T-, and Y-plates that provide improved contouring ability.

The UHS is designed for use in a wide spectrum of trauma and reconstructive procedures for the hand. It includes two notable innovations, a low profile 2.0 mm condylar tined plate for fractures near the joints and a ‘zigzag’ plate for comminuted phalangeal fractures.
 
William Seitz, MD – Director of the Cleveland Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital at Lutheran said: “These technologies represent a significant advance in the fit and functionality of internal plating systems due to their ability to reduce capture and hold specific, post-traumatic hand and wrist fractures.”
 
Anne Ouellette, MD – Chief of Division of Hand Surgery, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine said: “I believe we are entering a new era in internal fixation of the hand. The major improvements include the use of low profile stainless steel and anatomically designed implants that add a greater degree of comfort and functionality than the previous gold standard in fixation.”
 
Michael J. Simpson, President & COO at SBI, said: “The system is the first truly modular hand set on the market. With a comprehensive set of low profile, malleable stainless steel plates and screws, the system’s anatomical design and caddy packaging respond directly to surgeon demands for fit, function, convenience and economy.
 
“Stainless steel is becoming an overwhelming preference among surgeons that advised SBI during the UHS development phase. Their view is that the performance of our stainless steel is superior to titanium in terms of removal and soft tissue reaction, and just as easy to work with,” he added.
 
Anthony G. Viscogliosi, Chairman & CEO of SBI, said: “The SBI Universal Hand System™ is the first major innovation resulting from our integration of the four companies we acquired. We believe that this system of plates and screws is technologically superior and represents the first step in our strategy to make SBI a tightly focused, single source for surgeons addressing a more astute, demanding patient in their medical care.”
 
The UHS is being launched as the signature product of SBI’s internal fixation range and was presented to surgeons attending last month’s annual American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) convention in San Antonio, Texas (Sept. 22-24).
 
The company also featured its external fixation, arthroplasty and tissue technology products at the event, including the sponsorship of four product demonstration workshops.
 
The workshops featured demonstrations of the Artelon® CMC-I Spacer for basal thumb repair; the Avanta rHead™ and rHead™ Recon with a new radio-capitellum
prosthesis; and a developmental product, the SBI Wrist FIT™ distal radius plating system.

About SBI
Small Bone Innovations, LLC (SBI) was founded in 2004 by Viscogliosi Bros. LLC., (VB), the New York-based merchant banking firm that specializes in the musculoskeletal /orthopedic sector. VB created SBI as the first company to focus purely on small bone & joint science. By integrating established companies and professionals in the field, SBI today offers a broad, clinically proven portfolio of products and technologies to treat trauma and diseases in small bones & joints.

VB’s acquisitions and technology licenses include: Avanta Orthopaedics (hand/wrist/elbow arthroplasty and trauma products – USA); Envision (implant manufacturing – USA); Actipore™ (porous metal technology – Canada); Artelon® (biologically active & biodegradable technology – Sweden); Xtremi-T (resorbable trauma technology – USA); Fixano, S.A.S. (orthopedics, trauma and spine products - France).

For more information on SBI visit: www.totalsmallbone.com

About Viscogliosi Bros., LLC
Established by Marc R. Viscogliosi, John J. Viscogliosi and Anthony G. Viscogliosi in New York City in 1999, VB was the first venture capital/private equity and merchant banking firm dedicated to the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector of the health care industry. Today, VB is a leading independent firm with a mission to create, build and finance companies founded on innovations developed by surgeons and uniquely focused on "life changing" musculoskeletal/orthopedic technologies. VB has worldwide surgeon, industry and trade relationships and significant financial expertise in the musculoskeletal/orthopedic sector.

As principals of VB, the Viscogliosi brothers have a combined total of more than 35 years experience analyzing and investing in the musculoskeletal/orthopedics sector. The have pioneered innovative financial, strategic and management initiatives for companies in the sector, from start-up, seed and development stage all the way to exit, while helping thousands of people lead better lives through the orthopedic and spinal products marketed and sold by the companies they have assisted in developing and financing.
 
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