Avon, Mass.-based Ranfac Corp. has developed a removable handle for use with its bone access needles. The handle is designed to increase a physician’s control during minimally invasive surgical procedures that use fluoroscopic guidance. An example of such a procedure would be vertebral compression fractures. Bone access needles range from traditional needle sizes and formations, to drill-tip-like heads for access to harder bones.

Ranfac claims the removable handle provides better visibility and accuracy while under fluoroscopic guidance since it eliminates obstructed vision previously caused by the needle’s handle. The handle features a door-like component that can be opened after the needle has been introduced to the body and the stylet (wire run through the hollow of the needle to keep it stiff) has been removed. Opening the “door” detaches the handle from the cannula, or the main body of the needle. The handle can be replaced quickly, claims the company, by closing the “door.” The removal and attachment of the handle is accompanied by a clicking sound to alert the physician it has been done correctly.

Ranfac provides a range of bone access needles in diameters between 8 guage and 16 guage. The needles are customizable: “Snap fit” cannula and stylets are available to work with custom handle configurations; Multiple bone penetrating designs are offered, including bevel, spade, and trocar tips to help facilitate cortical penetration; And ports can be added onto the cannula.

A supplier of precision medical instruments, Ranfac was founded in 1888. All of its manufacturing is housed in the Avon facility. The company is a single-source manufacturer, and claims to use only domestic raw material.