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Acumed launched a next-generation wrist fixation system and acquired a digital surgery platform at the end of 2025, setting the stage for the company’s product rollout goals for 2026. We thought it was a good time to connect with Acumed CEO Hjalmar Pompe van Meerdervoort to gain greater insight into how the recent announcements address the needs of today’s trauma surgeons and align with the company’s overall strategy.
The largest companies in the trauma market have reported meaningful growth in recent years as they’ve launched updated product lines. Acumed has a broad portfolio across fracture indications, and we rank the company as the fifth-largest in the global trauma market.
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort said Acumed’s priorities for 2026 focus on advancing purposeful product innovation, strengthening partnerships across sites of care, and expanding enabling technologies that support surgeons across specialties.
“Our overall strategy is about balance,” he said, “reinforcing leadership in upper extremity while intentionally expanding in foot and ankle and CMF, guided by clinical consistency, simplicity, and long‑term partnerships.”
What are the major trends you’re hearing from surgeon customers?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: Surgeons want solutions that make their work easier, faster, and more consistent. They are prioritizing streamlined workflows, intuitive systems, and platforms that adapt to a range of case complexities. They are asking for innovation that solves real intraoperative challenges, not just incremental product tweaks.
At the same time, hospitals and ASCs are looking at value more broadly, seeking partners who offer strong portfolios, operational alignment, and long‑term collaboration. The message is clear: support clinical excellence by improving how surgeons practice, not just what they implant.
How is Acumed responding to those trends, and how does your response separate you from the competition?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: We continue to refine implants and instrumentation, building on trusted systems like Acutrak to streamline procedures and boost reproducibility. As more surgeries shift to ASCs, we are meeting their needs with purpose‑built kits, sterile options, predictable workflows, and ASC‑focused programs like ASCent.
What sets Acumed apart is our balanced expertise across extremities and CMF, combining decades of leadership with thoughtful innovation to improve workflow, enhance precision, and support long‑term surgical partnerships.
What differentiates the Acu-Loc NEXT system from previous versions of the technology?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: The Acu‑Loc NEXT System focuses on the three areas that matter most to surgeons: efficiency, adaptability, and precision, reflecting the evolution of clinical needs and patient expectations. We grounded this generation of the system in deep customer insight and real‑world procedural challenges.
Acu‑Loc NEXT introduces faster screw insertion, new instruments that simplify plate placement and fracture reduction, and a flexible mix‑and‑match implant portfolio, including Adjunct Plates, to address a wide range of fracture patterns.
Its precision‑driven design also enables accurate targeting of critical fragments for true 360‑degree fixation, highlighted by our Frag‑Loc technology that captures dorsal fragments while minimizing incision size.
Our goal was to merge the trusted clinical heritage of the Acu‑Loc platform with meaningful innovation and, by working closely with our surgeon partners, we have done exactly that.
What upcoming product launches excite you the most?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: We have a strong pipeline across all three franchises. Acu‑Loc NEXT, moving from limited release to full launch this year, is a major milestone. It brings meaningful innovation to distal radius fixation by improving efficiency in the O.R. and advancing the standard of care once again.
I am also excited about Acumed Digital Surgery (ADS) for CMF, which introduces interactive surgical planning and enhanced custom implants. It is a significant step forward for orthognathic and trauma procedures.
Finally, we are expanding our sterile, single‑use solutions, including the Acutrak Surgery‑Ready System for foot, ankle, and extremities. Built on more than 20 years of proven performance, it delivers a simple, efficient, sterile solution that supports surgeons in any care setting.
How has the purchase of assets from TECHFIT Digital Surgery advanced Acumed’s capabilities?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: The acquisition has significantly expanded Acumed’s personalized care capabilities by giving us full control of its digital surgical planning platform, specialized software, manufacturing assets, and intellectual property, allowing us to directly control the technology behind our patient‑tailored solutions.
The technology was incorporated into our ADS Platform and has immediately strengthened our craniomaxillofacial portfolio and now provides us with new avenues for innovation across all other portfolios globally.
What are your plans for expanding your digital and enabling technology offerings in the future?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: As we have done for the last several years, we will continue to monitor our customers’ needs and assess the areas where Acumed can provide solutions to increase customer value. The digital and enabling technology space is an exciting area and provides tremendous opportunities for expansion.
ADS provides the ability to deliver personalized care, which offers greater procedural precision and efficiency, better clinical outcomes, and enhanced delivery models to support different sites of service, especially in the ASC, where space constraints and procedural efficiency are a must. Our goal is to provide value while lowering the overall cost of care.
What trends are you seeing with the shift in procedures to ASCs, and how does your ASCent program help solve the challenges faced by these centers and the surgeons who operate in them?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: ASCs continue to capture a growing share of orthopedic volume as providers and patients prioritize the convenience and efficiency of outpatient care. Additionally, payors continue to assess how best to reduce their cost burden in delivering care. These two dynamics make for a challenging service environment.
The ASCent program was specially designed to solve these issues and provide full visibility into implant and disposable costs, enable a balanced profitability discussion with the site, and eliminate the uncertainty that often keeps ASCs from performing certain procedures.
We want to build a mutually beneficial partnership for both parties. The aim is to enable ASCs to forecast profitability and broaden their orthopedic offerings while delivering high‑quality care with financial confidence. In short, surgeons gain efficiency, payors gain value, and patients gain access.
From what part of your product portfolio are you seeing the most growth?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: We are seeing our strongest global growth in hand and upper extremity, especially in hand and wrist procedures driven by ongoing innovation in products like our Exsomed Phalangeal Nailing System, Acutrak compression screws, and the third generation of Acu‑Loc Distal Radius solutions.
We are also seeing encouraging momentum in lower extremity, particularly in hindfoot and ankle surgery, where our Fibula Nailing, Ankle Plating Systems, and Acu‑Sinch Knotless Syndesmosis solutions give us a strong competitive position.
Looking ahead, we expect rapid adoption of our ADS platform thanks to its intuitive cloud‑based planning tools, surgeon community features, and personalized patient solutions, which is more comprehensive relative to other systems in the market. Across all of this, our goal remains the same: to be the innovative solutions partner of choice and to advance the standard of care as we have for more than 35 years.
You’re approaching four years as CEO of Acumed. Which company accomplishments during your tenure are you most proud of?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: Over the past four years, I am most proud of how we have strengthened Acumed’s culture and elevated our team. We have continued to empower our people to deliver purposeful solutions to surgeons and increase the value that we bring to customers, which is a reflection of our can‑do attitude and commitment to being a trusted partner.
Acumed launched a next-generation wrist fixation system and acquired a digital surgery platform at the end of 2025, setting the stage for the company’s product rollout goals for 2026. We thought it was a good time to connect with Acumed CEO Hjalmar Pompe van Meerdervoort to gain greater insight into how the recent announcements address the...
Acumed launched a next-generation wrist fixation system and acquired a digital surgery platform at the end of 2025, setting the stage for the company’s product rollout goals for 2026. We thought it was a good time to connect with Acumed CEO Hjalmar Pompe van Meerdervoort to gain greater insight into how the recent announcements address the needs of today’s trauma surgeons and align with the company’s overall strategy.
The largest companies in the trauma market have reported meaningful growth in recent years as they’ve launched updated product lines. Acumed has a broad portfolio across fracture indications, and we rank the company as the fifth-largest in the global trauma market.
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort said Acumed’s priorities for 2026 focus on advancing purposeful product innovation, strengthening partnerships across sites of care, and expanding enabling technologies that support surgeons across specialties.
“Our overall strategy is about balance,” he said, “reinforcing leadership in upper extremity while intentionally expanding in foot and ankle and CMF, guided by clinical consistency, simplicity, and long‑term partnerships.”
What are the major trends you’re hearing from surgeon customers?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: Surgeons want solutions that make their work easier, faster, and more consistent. They are prioritizing streamlined workflows, intuitive systems, and platforms that adapt to a range of case complexities. They are asking for innovation that solves real intraoperative challenges, not just incremental product tweaks.
At the same time, hospitals and ASCs are looking at value more broadly, seeking partners who offer strong portfolios, operational alignment, and long‑term collaboration. The message is clear: support clinical excellence by improving how surgeons practice, not just what they implant.
How is Acumed responding to those trends, and how does your response separate you from the competition?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: We continue to refine implants and instrumentation, building on trusted systems like Acutrak to streamline procedures and boost reproducibility. As more surgeries shift to ASCs, we are meeting their needs with purpose‑built kits, sterile options, predictable workflows, and ASC‑focused programs like ASCent.
What sets Acumed apart is our balanced expertise across extremities and CMF, combining decades of leadership with thoughtful innovation to improve workflow, enhance precision, and support long‑term surgical partnerships.
What differentiates the Acu-Loc NEXT system from previous versions of the technology?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: The Acu‑Loc NEXT System focuses on the three areas that matter most to surgeons: efficiency, adaptability, and precision, reflecting the evolution of clinical needs and patient expectations. We grounded this generation of the system in deep customer insight and real‑world procedural challenges.
Acu‑Loc NEXT introduces faster screw insertion, new instruments that simplify plate placement and fracture reduction, and a flexible mix‑and‑match implant portfolio, including Adjunct Plates, to address a wide range of fracture patterns.
Its precision‑driven design also enables accurate targeting of critical fragments for true 360‑degree fixation, highlighted by our Frag‑Loc technology that captures dorsal fragments while minimizing incision size.
Our goal was to merge the trusted clinical heritage of the Acu‑Loc platform with meaningful innovation and, by working closely with our surgeon partners, we have done exactly that.
What upcoming product launches excite you the most?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: We have a strong pipeline across all three franchises. Acu‑Loc NEXT, moving from limited release to full launch this year, is a major milestone. It brings meaningful innovation to distal radius fixation by improving efficiency in the O.R. and advancing the standard of care once again.
I am also excited about Acumed Digital Surgery (ADS) for CMF, which introduces interactive surgical planning and enhanced custom implants. It is a significant step forward for orthognathic and trauma procedures.
Finally, we are expanding our sterile, single‑use solutions, including the Acutrak Surgery‑Ready System for foot, ankle, and extremities. Built on more than 20 years of proven performance, it delivers a simple, efficient, sterile solution that supports surgeons in any care setting.
How has the purchase of assets from TECHFIT Digital Surgery advanced Acumed’s capabilities?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: The acquisition has significantly expanded Acumed’s personalized care capabilities by giving us full control of its digital surgical planning platform, specialized software, manufacturing assets, and intellectual property, allowing us to directly control the technology behind our patient‑tailored solutions.
The technology was incorporated into our ADS Platform and has immediately strengthened our craniomaxillofacial portfolio and now provides us with new avenues for innovation across all other portfolios globally.
What are your plans for expanding your digital and enabling technology offerings in the future?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: As we have done for the last several years, we will continue to monitor our customers’ needs and assess the areas where Acumed can provide solutions to increase customer value. The digital and enabling technology space is an exciting area and provides tremendous opportunities for expansion.
ADS provides the ability to deliver personalized care, which offers greater procedural precision and efficiency, better clinical outcomes, and enhanced delivery models to support different sites of service, especially in the ASC, where space constraints and procedural efficiency are a must. Our goal is to provide value while lowering the overall cost of care.
What trends are you seeing with the shift in procedures to ASCs, and how does your ASCent program help solve the challenges faced by these centers and the surgeons who operate in them?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: ASCs continue to capture a growing share of orthopedic volume as providers and patients prioritize the convenience and efficiency of outpatient care. Additionally, payors continue to assess how best to reduce their cost burden in delivering care. These two dynamics make for a challenging service environment.
The ASCent program was specially designed to solve these issues and provide full visibility into implant and disposable costs, enable a balanced profitability discussion with the site, and eliminate the uncertainty that often keeps ASCs from performing certain procedures.
We want to build a mutually beneficial partnership for both parties. The aim is to enable ASCs to forecast profitability and broaden their orthopedic offerings while delivering high‑quality care with financial confidence. In short, surgeons gain efficiency, payors gain value, and patients gain access.
From what part of your product portfolio are you seeing the most growth?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: We are seeing our strongest global growth in hand and upper extremity, especially in hand and wrist procedures driven by ongoing innovation in products like our Exsomed Phalangeal Nailing System, Acutrak compression screws, and the third generation of Acu‑Loc Distal Radius solutions.
We are also seeing encouraging momentum in lower extremity, particularly in hindfoot and ankle surgery, where our Fibula Nailing, Ankle Plating Systems, and Acu‑Sinch Knotless Syndesmosis solutions give us a strong competitive position.
Looking ahead, we expect rapid adoption of our ADS platform thanks to its intuitive cloud‑based planning tools, surgeon community features, and personalized patient solutions, which is more comprehensive relative to other systems in the market. Across all of this, our goal remains the same: to be the innovative solutions partner of choice and to advance the standard of care as we have for more than 35 years.
You’re approaching four years as CEO of Acumed. Which company accomplishments during your tenure are you most proud of?
Mr. Pompe van Meerdervoort: Over the past four years, I am most proud of how we have strengthened Acumed’s culture and elevated our team. We have continued to empower our people to deliver purposeful solutions to surgeons and increase the value that we bring to customers, which is a reflection of our can‑do attitude and commitment to being a trusted partner.
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Carolyn LaWell is ORTHOWORLD's Chief Content Officer. She joined ORTHOWORLD in 2012 to oversee its editorial and industry education. She previously served in editor roles at B2B magazines and newspapers.
