Quote from: ThickButt on August 21, 2020, 05:55:42 PMI read through the patent and it seems deceptively simple. If it is as "easy" as Hyne's makes it out to be, he could probably get this working (in a prototype/proof-of-concept sense) within 1-5 years. Getting approval and bringing it to market would probably take longer though. I think the main barrier is the fact his market is mostly untested. Surgical solutions for DDD that are proactive aren't really a thing. So he'd have to convince people to open up their backs and tinker with their spines before any real issues/pain crop up. Needless to say, convincing people to undergo preventative spine surgery will be a challenge that will greatly limit the market, at least at first. And unfortunately, ROI/$ potential = how quickly something gets developed.
As far as cost? Spinal fusion is probably a reasonable cost comparison. According to Google, the average spinal fusion in the USA is between $14,000 to $26,000. Spinal fusion is a very common, tried and true procedure with decades worth of successful operations to its name, along with a mature implant market, so we have probably achieved some level of pricing efficiency after all these years with regards to this treatment.
Hyne's treatment would be brand new, with a more limited market, hopefully just at first. The people offering this treatment will probably have to keep prices high to recoup R&D costs from a small initial customer base. On top of that, we would need custom implants, which adds further to R&D costs. All in all, you could see initial costs of at least $50k to get this procedure for cosmetic purposes.
My 2c, not an expert though.
It has been abandoned since 2009 or so.
Anyway, yeah it doesn't look very promising if it involves surgery. Wiser thing to do is just to try to maximize your spine length with natural methods.