XJet’s NanoParticle Jetting technology has been integrated with an AI-driven design workflow to create a new generation of spinal implants.
When patients are told they need surgery, their first instinct is to seek the best possible care — top surgeons, leading hospitals, the highest standards available. What they may not immediately consider, however, is the quality and suitability of the tools and implants those medical professionals rely on.
For Todd Hodrinsky and Marcel Janse, that question became central. The two connected through patient communities while awaiting treatment for their own spinal conditions. Hodrinsky brought more than two decades of experience in strategic management and product launches, while Janse, an engineer and inventor, had a similarly extensive background in product development.
Like many patients, they researched leading surgeons and hospitals. But they went a step further, investigating the implants themselves. What they discovered was what they describe as a “fundamental mismatch” between standardized, mass-produced devices and the highly individualized anatomy of each patient.
A “one-size-fits-most” implant, they believed, can result in uneven load distribution and implant migration. They were also concerned about inflammatory reactions caused by wear debris and poor anatomical fit. Facing their own ongoing back pain, neither Hodrinsky nor Janse were willing to accept those compromises. Instead, they chose to pursue a better solution — co-founding a company and bringing a new implant concept to market.
“We believed there had to be a better way,” said Hodrinsky, CEO of Nivalon, in an interview with TCT. “EvoFlex was developed from the conviction that implants should be patient-specific, biomimetic, and biologically stable — designed to work with the body, not against it.”
Application Spotlight: AI-Engineered Patient-Specific Spinal Implants Preparing for First In Human Procedures in 2026