Tobra Medical: Delivering Simple and Efficient Bone Collection Solutions
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Tobra Medical: Delivering Simple and Efficient Bone Collection Solutions

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Brad Collins, Founder and President, Tobra MedicalBrad Collins, Founder and President, Tobra Medical
As early as 1912, Dr. Vittorio Putti—a famed Italian orthopedic surgeon—had elaborated the qualitative difference between bone grafts created using cells from the same individual (autograft) and other heteroplastic bone substitutes. To this day, his observations hold significance in the realm of orthopedics, and autograft bone is still considered the best option for orthopedic surgeries. With the least post-procedural complications, autografts have the ability to induce natural healing processes, eliminate cross-infection, and adverse immune response risks. Despite these advantages, autograft bones are still struggling to become the mainstay of orthopedic procedures. The major reason behind this is the limited availability of bone material collection equipment. The tools currently available in the market are expensive, and require technically skilled personnel to use them correctly in the OR. Combating this challenge with innovative bone collection equipment that facilitates the collection of bone particles during bone drilling procedures is North Carolina-based Tobra Medical. The company‘s Bone Basket and Specimen Basket collection solutions eliminate the need to use expensive allograft bone grafts and minimize the costs incurred by a healthcare facility. Besides, these user-friendly, single-use, one step designed products are easy to set up and allow for efficient collection performance. Both products are designed to be small and compact for in-line collection. “We are focused on delivering better patient outcomes by providing solutions that simplify the collection, preparation, and delivery of autograft bone materials required for bone grafting in bone fusion procedures,” says Brad Collins, founder and president of Tobra Medical.

In one instance, the company assisted an orthopedic surgeon of a large medical training facility to increase the efficiency of spinal fusion procedures in a cost-effective manner.

Initially, the surgeon was hesitant to use any bone collection equipment because of their time-consuming implementation process and poor handling characteristics of collected bone.


We are focused on delivering better patient outcomes by providing solutions that simplify the collection, preparation, and delivery of autograft bone materials required for bone grafting in bone fusion procedures


However, the ready-to-use design and the efficient and continuous filtration system of Tobra Medical’s Bone Basket solution allowed the doctor to perform the surgery without any interruptions. Tobra Medical’s patented mesh basket collected large volumes of autograft bone before it was pressed to eliminate the fluid and blood, to yield bone graft material similar to that of bone putty. As a result, the orthopedic surgeon was able to save up to $1500 per lumbar fusion and $250 per cervical procedure.

Tobra Medical’s unparalleled success can be attributed to the company’s ability to offer solutions that equivocally cater to the needs of the OR and the overall healthcare facility. For surgeons, the Bone Basket and Specimen Basket allow a seamless collection of autograft bone for bone grafting and facilitate a seamless surgery. That being said, Tobra Medical’s cost-effective solutions also assist the administrative teams to reduce the costs on biologics by 30-40 percent. “Our products play a dual role of helping administration cut costs and assisting surgeons in bone fusion ensuring patient satisfaction,” explains Collins.

Today, the company has partnered with over 15 medical institutes to inspire the next generation of surgeons and educate them on the significance of an efficient autograft bone collection system in enhancing bone fusion procedures. Looking ahead, Tobra Medical aims to expand its footprint in the overall healthcare and operating room management space by becoming the preferred choice for healthcare facilities in regards to efficient and cost effective products for bone collection, bone preparation and bone delivering products. “We want surgeons to choose our cost-effective products over high-cost biologics and previous bone collection products that are cumbersome and inefficient,” states Collins. With the ability to facilitate simple, efficient, and cost-effective preparation for autograft bone, Tobra Medical is poised to revolutionize the way surgeons perform highly strenuous spinal surgeries, while delivering the best patient outcomes.