Tegra Medical

For over 20 years Tegra Medical has perfected the manufacturing of spinal implants.

This titanium polyaxial screw connects vertebrae rods in spinal surgery such as spinal fusion.  We manufacture the entire screw and its assembly. The screw’s head is enclosed in a housing that allows the screw a range of motion along several different axes relative to the housing. This movement allows a surgeon, who is working within the constraints of a small incision, to fasten the screw at the proper angle during surgery. The long shafts are designed to be removed after the screw has been implanted.

For surgeons to do their best work they must have high-quality instruments and devices. Fortunately, Tegra Medical is renown in the medical device industry for manufacturing devices with the sharpest tips.

The sharp tip of a disposable instrument can be delicate.  The soft metal is good for one or two extremely precise cuts.  After it’s created, the tip must be kept sharp through manufacturing, molding, assembly, etc. Tegra Medical has developed proprietary processes that keep a device from losing its edge.

For example, a customer hired Tegra Medical to create the sharp metal tip of their device but was already using another supplier for molding and assembly. When the other supplier shipped the final devices to the customer, they were no longer as sharp. After several unsuccessful attempts to get their other supplier to maintain the sharp edges the customer realized that only Tegra Medical was going to keep the devices sharp enough for their high standards.  They then asked Tegra Medical to handle all the steps of making the device, from the sharp “business end” to the molded handle and everything in between.

Keeping devices sharp is a discipline instilled in everything Tegra Medical does.

Tegra Medical is fearless when it comes to manufacturing complicated devices. Our team dove headfirst into the spine market in 2000. Since then we’ve had more than two decades to perfect our processes to make complex spine, orthopaedic, and other products from head to toe.

This is just a sample of the spine and orthopaedic products we have manufactured:

• Drill guides
• Retractors
• Polyaxial screws and their holders
• Bone marrow aspiration needles
• Navigation guides for robotic surgery
• Intermedullary nails
• Meniscal suturing devices
• Broach handles
• Femoral head removers
• PEEK implants
• Drivers
• Needles
• Cannulae
• Meniscal cinches
• Spinal tamps
• Expandable inserters
• Dilators

Robotic assisted surgery allows smaller incisions yet more dexterity for surgeons, who get a 3-D view instead of the 2-D view of laparoscopy. The smaller instruments and increased range of motion provide easier access to difficult locations in the body.

A new breed of medical devices has emerged to support surgical robots. Some, such as cutting tools, are essentially modified versions of what would be handheld instruments in minimally-invasive surgery. Others break new ground, such as the navigation components we manufacture that allow a surgical robot to map bony landmarks during joint replacement.

Tegra Medical understands the impact of robotics on the surgical landscape and the fine points of manufacturing highly precise medical devices for minimally-invasive, orthopaedic, and other robotic procedures.

Tegra Medical has decades of experience manufacturing complex devices for minimally-invasive surgery. This means we have had ample opportunities for perfecting our approach to tackling the precision that is required for medical devices used in robotic surgeries. Tight tolerances, tiny parts, and unusual geometries are nothing new for us.

Some of the technologies, methodologies, and experience we draw upon to make devices for robotic surgery include:

• Unparalleled expertise with metal, e.g., laser tube cutting and grinding the sharpest points for devices’ distal ends
• Stringent procedures that keep sharp tips sharp throughout the entire manufacturing process
• A history of assembling devices with complicated features
• Multiple 5-axis CNC mill/turn machines for efficiency and repeatability
• Rigorous quality management system including complex measurement equipment and real time data collection