Smith and Nephew hails NICE backing for LIPUS treatments

Smith and Nephew has welcomed the decision of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to recommend low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) technology for the treatment of bone fractures.

The UK regulator has endorsed the technology as being a safe and effective way of reducing the healing time required by patients, based on analysis of clinical data collated from 13 individual trials.

This represents a positive development for Smith and Nephew's LIPUS-based bone healing system Exogen, which has been utilised by hundreds of thousands of European patients since its 1997 launch.

John Everett, vice-president for commercial operations at Smith and Nephew, said the manufacturer was "delighted" with the positive NICE guidance.

He explained: "The ultrasound technology … can help the healing of fractures, but most importantly it is the patient that really stands to benefit by potentially avoiding further intervention and reducing their time to heal."

In September 2010, Smith and Nephew launched its newest product Allevyn Gentle Border Lite, a wound dressing that is designed to reduce pain associated with removal.