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Video: Majority of Americans Over 45 Experience Joint Pain and Believe it will Affect Their Future Quality of Life

WARSAW, Ind., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent nationwide survey of Americans over the age of 45 revealed a boomer population that is living with joint pain and that believes the future holds more of the same. Of the two-thirds of respondents who indicated that they experience joint pain at least sometimes, nearly half indicated that it currently affects their daily life. With the baby boomer population approximately 70 million strong, customized approaches to joint replacement that help individuals maintain active lifestyles will play an important role in quality of life now and into the future.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/biomet/37114/

To meet this need, Biomet has launched the Signature(TM) Personalized Patient Care System to enable orthopedic surgeons to plan more effectively and perform total knee replacement. The Signature(TM) system uses MRI technology to create a three-dimensional model of the patient's joint anatomy. Before the advent of the Signature(TM) system, preoperative planning was very limited and was typically done with two-dimensional x-rays.

"With Biomet's Signature(TM) system surgeons have access to interactive software to help develop the initial preoperative plan and patient specific positioning guides for precise implant placement," stated Adolph V. Lombardi, Jr., MD, orthopedics clinical assistant professor at Ohio State University. "Together with the Vanguard(R) Complete Knee System, Signature(TM) affords surgeons the opportunity to utilize a state of the art approach for optimal positioning of a knee system designed for the entire population -- not just specific genders."

In a recent survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Biomet, 68 percent of people over the age of 45 indicated they currently experience joint pain, and 42 percent said that it affected everyday aspects of their life, such as interactions with friends and family, their job or keeping up their home. When asked about the future, more than three-fourths of those respondents think they are likely to develop severe joint pain as they get older, and 61 percent are at least somewhat concerned this will affect their quality of life over time.

Biomet is the first orthopedic implant company to provide surgeons the tools to create custom femoral and tibial positioning guides for use in total knee replacement. While it is a relatively new option, nearly one-third of respondents would feel much more positive about joint replacement surgery if it utilized the MRI technology and personal positioning guides.

The Signature(TM) system allows for procedures that are more efficient and less-invasive(1). Additionally, surgeons benefit from the Signature. system or guides because it assists in aligning the joint implant. According to a survey of orthopedic surgeons, 88 percent identified alignment as the most important factor in a successful total knee replacement surgery.

The Signature(TM) Personalized Patient Care System is the result of a collaborative partnership between Biomet, Inc. and Materialise of Leuven,Belgium.

The consumer survey was conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) ofPrinceton, N.J., January 23-26, 2009. The survey consisted of telephone interviews with a randomly selected sample of 728 adults over the age of 45 using ORC's omnibus Caravan service. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 3.6 percentage points, at the 95 percent confidence level.

The survey of 200 orthopedic surgeons was conducted online by ORC from January 26-February 4, 2009 using a large medical panel. Surgeons included in the survey had a minimum of one year experience and conduct at least 10 knee replacements per year.

More information on Signature(TM) Personalized Patient Care System can be found at http://www.biomet.com/patients/signature.cfm.

About Biomet, Inc.

Biomet, Inc. and its subsidiaries design, manufacture, and market products used primarily by musculoskeletal medical specialists in both surgical and non-surgical therapy. Biomet's product portfolio encompasses reconstructive products, including orthopedic joint replacement devices, bone cements and accessories, autologous therapies and dental reconstructive implants; fixation products, including electrical bone growth stimulators, internal and external orthopedic fixation devices, craniomaxillofacial implants and bone substitute materials; spinal products, including spinal stimulation devices, spinal hardware and orthobiologics; and other products, such as arthroscopy products, softgoods and bracing products. Headquartered inWarsaw, Indiana, Biomet and its subsidiaries currently distribute products in more than 70 countries.

All trademarks herein are the property of Biomet, Inc. or its subsidiaries unless otherwise indicated.

(1) Lombardi, A., et al. Patient-specific Approach in Total Knee Arthroplasty. Orthopedics. 31(9): 927-930, 2008.

SOURCE Biomet, Inc.