ORANGE COUNTY, CA, June 09, 2010
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Following the largest volume of award nominations to date, VQ OrthoCare's OActive knee brace and BioniCare System was announced the winner of the TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Awards in the Medical Device category at a formal awards dinner on June 2, 2010. The OActive knee brace and BioniCare System ("BioniCare") is the first non-surgical, non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical alternative treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee. BioniCare delivers a low-level pulsed electrical signal to the knee held in place on the inside of a joint unloading brace, developed specifically to treat osteoarthritis by mimicking the naturally occurring signal present in a healthy knee joint. A long-term study led by two orthopedic surgeons from The Johns Hopkins University Medical Center found that an average of 11 months of treatment with BioniCare enabled 62% of severe knee osteoarthritis patients to avoid a TKA during the 4 years following completion of treatment as compared to only 7% of the matched control group ¹.
"27 million Americans are living with osteoarthritis, costing the American healthcare system 186 billion dollars annually," said Jim Knape, president and founder, VQ OrthoCare. "In 2008, 15 to 18 billion dollars were spent on total knee replacement surgeries. This number is expected to skyrocket 700 percent by the year 2030. BioniCare offers patients a life changing alternative to surgery and significantly lowers healthcare costs for osteoarthritis treatment."
The TechAmerica Awards win follows on the heels of the company's first place win at the 2010 Innovations in Healthcare SM ABBY Awards from the Adaptive Business Leaders (ABL) Organization earlier this year. The ABBY Awards program recognizes companies that have proven to lower the cost of providing quality healthcare.
Now in its 17th year, the TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Awards is a premier business event that celebrates excellence and achievement in the region's technology industry, and honors local companies, individuals and products that drive innovation in Orange County. The awards categories this year include the Harvey Mudd College Green Engineering Award, Innovative Product/Technology In 2009, Outstanding CEO In Technology, Outstanding Company In Medical Technology and Outstanding Technology Company. The winners were announced at a formal dinner on June 2, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, Calif.
For more information about the TechAmerica Awards, visit http://www.techamerica.org/htaoc. For more information about BioniCare, visit http://www.bionicare.com.
About VQ OrthoCare
Founded in 1989 and based in Irvine, California, VQ OrthoCare is a leading manufacturer and provider of non-invasive medical solutions focused on bone, joint and soft-tissue conditions. VQ OrthoCare's commitment to treating patients with respect and supporting them in achieving optimum outcomes is unmatched in the industry. Services include in-home patient fitting of braces and other medical devices, and technology-enabled compliance monitoring. VQ OrthoCare's orthopedic products include: SurgiStim4, OrthoStim4, FastStart EMS, FastStart HVPC, VQ Vector, Biotens, and the OActive Knee Brace and BioniCare system. VQ OrthoCare is registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a medical device manufacturer and specification developer. For more information, visit http://www.VQOrthoCare.com or call (800) 452-7993.
About TechAmerica
TechAmerica is the leading voice for the U.S. technology industry, which is the driving force behind productivity growth and jobs creation in the United States and the foundation of the global innovation economy. Representing approximately 1,500 member companies of all sizes from the public and commercial sectors of the economy, it is the industry's largest advocacy organization and is dedicated to helping members' top and bottom lines. It is also the technology industry's only grassroots-to-global advocacy network, with offices in state capitals around the United States, Washington, D.C., Europe (Brussels) and Asia (Beijing). TechAmerica was formed by the merger of TechAmerica (formerly the American Electronics Association), the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA), the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and the Government Electronics & Information Technology Association (GEIA). Learn more at http://www.techamerica.org.
¹Mont MM, Hungerford DS, et.al. "Pulsed Electrical Stimulation to Defer TKA in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis." Orthopedics. October 2006 (10): 887-889.
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