Eagan, Minn., June 29, 2022 — I am delighted to announce that we commercially released UltraGuideTFR™ for the treatment of trigger finger in April after successfully completing a limited market release and receiving compelling and consistent clinical outcomes and physician feedback about performing trigger finger release with UltraGuideTFR and real-time ultrasound guidance.
As we write this newsletter, approximately 420 patients have been treated with UltraGuideTFR and 26 physicians are now offering this TFR with ultrasound guidance to their patients.
The news release (featured below) includes data on how your peers rank ease-of-use and likelihood they will use our UltraGuideTFR device in future TFR procedures. We would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives, Contact us!
In May, a record number of patients were treated with UltraGuideCTR using real-time ultrasound guidance, bringing the total number of patients treated with UltraGuideCTR to more than 14,000 – which is on pace to reach 15,000 patients by mid-summer.
We are also seeing a significant uptick in requests for co-marketing support of patient education events – these are excellent opportunities to engage patients who might be delaying treatment due to length of recovery time or other concerns. We never get tired of hearing patients share their enthusiasm for how their physician enabled them to quickly return to work and to the activities they love after carpal tunnel release or trigger finger release with ultrasound guidance.
We continue to build and enhance the resources to support your efforts to educate patients about their treatment options. One example of an innovative resource is the new carpal tunnel syndrome patient education video mentioned in the article below.
If you have not done so already, we encourage you to connect with your Sonex Health Practice Development Consultant to learn more about incorporating UltraGuideTFR into your practice. Let’s keep the good news rolling all year!
Bob Paulson
President & CEO
The Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures will soon launch TUTOR (Trial of Ultrasound Guided Carpal Tunnel Release Versus Traditional Open Release) – the first multicenter randomized controlled trial in the United States to compare the efficacy and safety of traditional mini-open carpal tunnel release (mOCTR) and carpal tunnel release using UltraGuideCTR and real-time ultrasound guidance.
Enrollment is planned to begin in July. We will make every effort to have the peer-reviewed three-month post-procedure results published by May/June of 2023. Our team is grateful to following participants in the TUTOR study, including the study investigators and members of the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB):
Study Investigators:
DSMB members:
Later this summer, The Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures will launch a prospective multicenter, single arm trial to study carpal tunnel release with UltraGuideCTR and real-time ultrasound guidance in an office procedure room setting. Watch for more details in the next issue.
On April 27, Sonex Health and The Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures announced full market release of UltraGuideTFR – providing physicians with a sleek and simple way to perform trigger finger release under ultrasound guidance. It’s the second device in the UltraGuide family. During the limited market release, physicians provided user experience feedback on 100 trigger finger release procedures using UltraGuideTFR and real-time ultrasound guidance. Results included:1
Talk to your Sonex Health Practice Development Consultant about incorporating UltraGuideTFR into your practice.
We want to ensure you are aware of this unique opportunity to share with peers and colleagues: The Institute of Advanced Ultrasound Guided Procedures and Sonex Health are hosting 20 local MSK ultrasound mini-fellowship events for physicians across the United States on July 22nd and 23rd.
The education will be led by Jay Smith, MD, an internationally-renowned MSK ultrasound expert, and co-founder/CMO of Sonex Health. The mini-fellowship program features hands-on cadaveric training. Dr. Smith will be assisted by our Clinical Service Managers and Practice Development Consultants.
Physicians who are not currently performing CTR/TFR with real-time ultrasound guidance and are interested in incorporating the procedures into their practices. Feel free to share this opportunity with your peers!
Live demonstrations followed by hands-on practice and instruction:
These complimentary programs can be held in your office or a local hotel, depending on number of registrants.
Limited space – First come, first serve. Inquire today about hosting or attending an MSK ultrasound mini-fellowship. Please contact your Sonex Health Practice Development Consultant or Info@SonexHealth.com.
Now available for your website, this new video educates patients about carpal tunnel syndrome and their treatment options. In-office video brochures to assist with efficient and effective consultations are also available.
Contact your Sonex Health Practice Development Consultant to implement this valuable education tool into your practice.
In a study published in the November 2021 issue of the journal HAND, authors sought to identify the value hand clinic patients place on a faster return to work (RTW) and a smaller incision if they were faced with surgery.
Patient willingness to pay is an economic concept used to assess the value that a patient places on health care interventions and services.
The results indicated that about 2/3 of patients were willing to pay at least some out-of-pocket costs for a 3-day faster RTW, and about 3/4 were willing to pay to RTW 7 or 14 days faster. About 50% of patients were willing to pay for a 1 cm smaller incision and about 75% for a 2, 3, 4 or 5 cm smaller incision. Approximately 10% of patients were willing to pay up to $2,500 for a faster RTW or smaller incision size.
These results indicate, that given the choice, hand surgery patients may choose a procedure that provides a faster return to work and smaller incision.
1. UltraGuideTFR user experience data on file at Sonex Health. Data pull April 20, 2022.