Raymedica Inc has expanded the distribution network for its PDN prosthetic disc nucleus device to China, Malaysia and Singapore. The move increases the availability of the PDN device, which is used for the surgical treatment of low back pain that has not responded to conservative care.

In advance of the Asian introduction of the PDN device, surgeons from Malaysia and Singapore traveled to the United States for surgical training. After training, the surgeons began implanting PDN devices at the University of Malaya Medical Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Singapore and Malaysia have extremely well developed health care delivery systems and a combined population of 23 million people. Citizens in both countries have among the world's longest life spans and highest quality of life. Spine surgeons in both nations are eager for access to newer technologies like the PDN device.

In southern China, surgeons from Hong Kong attended PDN device training programs in Vienna, Austria and recently began implanting the device at the Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Hong Kong. In northern China, a Beijing distributor will coordinate a surgeon-training program with Raymedica personnel at training facilities in the United States and Vienna. With a population exceeding one billion people, China is an important market for the PDN device. Both Hong Kong and Beijing have modern health care facilities and routinely seek newly developed technologies.

The PDN device is comprised of a hydrogel material designed to replace the function of a failed spinal disc nucleus. To treat low-back pain, a pair of PDN devices is implanted in the center of the spinal disc. In smaller patients, a single PDN device is sufficient. The devices are designed to support the bones of a patient's spine while allowing for more normal flexibility and movement than spinal fusion, the current established surgical treatment, in which adjacent vertebrae are fused together.