Tenon Medical Completes Initial Quickstep Decorticator Alpha Cases
Tenon Medical said initial alpha cases have been completed for its Quickstep Decorticator, which is designed to simplify decortication during the SImmetry+ SI Joint Fusion System procedure.
Tenon Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ:TNON) has completed the initial alpha cases for its Quickstep Decorticator, a new instrument intended for use with the company’s SImmetry+ SI Joint Fusion System. Tenon is targeting a full market release in the first quarter of 2027, although the company identified clinical, manufacturing, regulatory and market-acceptance factors that could affect its plans.
The Quickstep Decorticator is designed to simplify preparation of the sacroiliac joint during the SImmetry+ procedure. Decortication involves removing cartilage and the hard outer bone surface to expose bleeding bone and prepare the joint for fusion.
Tenon says the procedure is based on three elements associated with fusion: joint preparation, bone grafting and rigid fixation. The company states that mechanical stabilisation alone may not provide the same conditions for bone to bridge across the joint.
Quickstep combines drilling and decortication in a single instrument. The design is intended to reduce exchanges between separate tools and consolidate procedural steps.
The system also includes interchangeable cutting blades in multiple sizes. Tenon says this allows the cutting element to be selected according to the patient’s anatomy. Quickstep is designed for use with SImmetry+’s 3D-printed titanium implants, whose porous surface matrix is intended to support bone growth directly on the implant surface.
Sunil Panchal, MD, said his initial alpha cases used one instrument and a single trajectory for drilling and decortication. He said this reduced instrument exchanges during fluoroscopy-guided work and that the interchangeable blades allowed the preparation to be adjusted to the anatomy of the individual SI joint.
Steven M. Foster, Tenon’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said the company views Quickstep as part of its continued development of the SImmetry+ platform. He said Tenon believes a more streamlined decortication step may support adoption of the system, while the company continues to gather feedback from alpha physicians ahead of the planned market release.
Tenon is targeting the full market release of Quickstep in the first quarter of 2027. This is a company target rather than a completed commercial launch. Tenon’s forward-looking statements concerning timing, physician acceptance, procedural efficiency and adoption may be affected by early clinical-use results, physician feedback, product-development, manufacturing or commercialisation delays, regulatory matters, market acceptance, competition and the company’s ability to fund its operations.
The company also said additional innovative product launches are expected in the coming quarters. The timing and success of those launches, along with the deployment of additional instrument sets and development of a next-generation lateral SI joint fusion system, are forward-looking matters.
Tenon currently offers the SImmetry+ SI Joint Fusion System, which uses a minimally invasive lateral access approach, and the Catamaran SI Joint Fusion System, which uses an inferior-posterior approach.
The company acquired substantially all of the assets of SiVantage, Inc. and SIMPL Medical, LLC in August 2025, including the SImmetry+ system. Tenon’s Catamaran system received its national launch in October 2022.
Tenon Medical announced the completion of the initial alpha cases using its new Quickstep Decorticator. The company describes Quickstep as the latest advancement in its next-generation SImmetry+ SI Joint Fusion System.
Tenon Medical made the announcement on October 28, 2026. The announcement covers the completion of the initial alpha cases and the planned full market release of Quickstep.
Tenon Medical is targeting a full market release of Quickstep in the first quarter of 2027. The timing is a company target and remains subject to the risks identified in the release, including potential delays in product development, manufacturing or commercialisation, regulatory matters and market acceptance.
Tenon Medical designed Quickstep to streamline decortication of the sacroiliac joint and simplify the SImmetry+ surgical workflow. The company says decortication is intended to remove cartilage and the hard cortical surface of the joint to expose bleeding bone and create a receptive bed for fusion.
Quickstep allows surgeons to drill and decorticate the SI joint through one instrument, includes interchangeable cutting blades in multiple sizes and is designed to support fusion with the system's 3D-printed titanium implants. Tenon Medical says the design reduces instrument exchanges and consolidates procedural steps.
Tenon Medical says authentic arthrodesis depends on thorough joint-surface preparation, bone grafting and rigid fixation. The company states that decortication exposes bleeding bone and releases cellular and vascular elements that drive bone healing, while fixation alone may stabilise the joint mechanically without providing the same conditions for bridging bone.
Sunil Panchal, MD, said that drilling and decorticating through the same instrument along a single trajectory eliminated several instrument exchanges and streamlined the workflow under fluoroscopy in his initial alpha cases. He also said the interchangeable cutting blades allowed him to select a size suited to the patient's SI joint anatomy.
Tenon Medical believes Quickstep may further support long-term adoption of the SImmetry+ System and views it as an important step in expanding the SImmetry+ user base. The company attributes this view to the intended procedural efficiency, ease of use and repeatability of the system, while noting that anticipated physician acceptance and adoption are forward-looking matters.
Tenon Medical said additional innovative product launches are expected in the coming quarters. The release also identifies the timing and success of additional launches, deployment of additional instrument sets and development of the next-generation lateral SI joint fusion system as forward-looking matters.
Tenon Medical currently offers the SImmetry+ SI Joint Fusion System, which uses a minimally invasive lateral access solution, and the Catamaran SI Joint Fusion System, which uses an inferior-posterior approach. The company says its solutions are tailored to physician preference.
Tenon Medical is a medical device company focused on care for patients with certain sacro-pelvic disorders. It has developed systems to treat a diseased sacroiliac joint, including the Catamaran system and the SImmetry+ system acquired through substantially all of the assets of SiVantage, Inc. and SIMPL Medical, LLC in August 2025.
Tenon Medical shares trade on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol TNON, stated in the release as NASDAQ:TNON.
Tenon Medical said actual results may differ materially from its forward-looking statements because of factors including early clinical-use results and physician feedback, potential delays in product development, manufacturing or commercialisation, regulatory matters, market acceptance, competition and the company's ability to fund its operations.