About Mobi-C

• Designed by an experienced French surgeon team
• First implanted in November 2004 in France
• Entered into FDA IDE one and two-level studies in 2006
• FDA approved for use in the United States in August 2013

How does the Mobi-C move?

The Mobi-C top plate moves over the plastic insert. The plastic insert slides across and twists on the bottom plate.

The muscles and soft tissue in your neck move the vertebrae and the attached Mobi-C plates. With vertebrae and neck muscle movement, the Mobi-C is free to twist and slide left-to-right and front-to-back. This allows the vertebrae above and below the Mobi-C to move. This feature is designed to allow the disc to self-adjust and move with the spine, which is intended to facilitate motion similar to the natural cervical spine.

There are no invasive keels or screws required for Mobi-C placement. No bone chiseling eliminates operative steps and preserves the vertebrae for a stable surface ideal for one or two-level implantation.

The Mobi-C disc has three parts: two metal plates and a plastic insert in the middle. The plates are made of a mix of metals commonly used in spine surgery (cobalt, chromium, and molybdenum).

The plates have teeth on the top and bottom that help hold the plates to the vertebrae. The teeth are pressed into the bone with no bone cut out, which makes the Mobi-C design and technique bone sparing.

The outside of the metal plates are sprayed with a coating (hydroxyapatite). This coating helps the vertebrae to grow and attach to the metal plates for long term stability.

The plastic insert is made from polyethylene. The insert is flat on the bottom and round on the top. The insert is made to move as you move your neck.

Mobi-C eliminates operative steps with no bone chiseling required to cut a path for teeth or screws. After disc preparation, Mobi-C can be inserted in one step.

Mobi-C comes preassembled on a plastic cartridge. This simplifies implantation, and allows an X-ray view of the implant for optimal positioning.

Cervical Disc Replacement with Mobi-C

In a surgery with the Mobi-C Cervical Disc, the unhealthy disc is removed, but instead of a bone spacer or plastic implant along with a plate and screws, a Mobi-C is implanted into the disc space. Where a fusion procedure is intended to eliminate motion at the surgery levels, the goal of a surgery with Mobi-C is to allow motion at those levels.

Both fusion and Mobi-C artificial disc surgery:

• Replace the damaged disc.
• Try to match a healthy disc height to help un-trap any nerves.

Only the Mobi-C implant:

• Tries to maintain neck movement.
• Fits entirely within the disc space.

The Mobi-C Cervical Disc:

• Is for adults; the vertebrae must be mature (age range, 21-67 years).
• Takes the place of one or two damaged cervical discs next to each other (contiguous or adjacent) from levels C3-C7.
• Is for patients with arm pain and/or neurological symptoms such as weakness or numbness with or without neck pain. The damaged disc may be irritating the:
  • Spinal cord (myelopathy) or nerve roots (radiculopathy). This can cause a loss of feeling, loss of movement, pain, weakness, or tingling down the arm and possibly into the hands.
• Disc damage needs to be proven by your doctor’s review of your CT, MRI, or X-ray images. Images of the neck should show at least one of the following:
  • Inner disc squeezing through the outer disc (herniated nucleus pulposus).
  • Degeneration of the spine from wear and tear (spondylosis). There may be boney growth (osteophytes) on a vertebra.
  • Loss of disc height compared to the levels above and below.
• Is for people who have not responded to non-surgical care. Patient should either have:
  • Tried at least six weeks of other medical treatments such as physical therapy and medicine before having surgery; or
  • Have signs or symptoms that their condition is getting worse even with other medical treatments.