Mobi-C® Cervical Disc

The Mobi-C Cervical Disc is one of the most widely used cervical discs in the world. First implanted in France in November 2004, Mobi-C has now been implanted in more than 75,000 spinal levels in 25 countries.

Mobi-C is intended for adult patients (skeletally mature) with arm pain and/or neurological symptoms (such as weakness or numbness) with or without neck pain at one or two adjacent levels from C3 – C7 in the cervical spine. Patients should have failed non-surgical care (such as physical therapy or medications) for at least 6 weeks, or shown signs of progressively worsening symptoms. Disc damage needs to be confirmed by a doctor’s review of CT, MRI, or x-ray images. A doctor should always be consulted for proper indications and use of Mobi-C.

Anatomy and Pathology of the Neck

The cervical spine has discs between each bone that provide cushioning for movements and body loads. The discs and bones in a healthy neck allow bending from side-to-side and front-to-back, and turning left-to-right. Disc problems can start from over-use, an accident, or just the wear and tear of daily life. Degenerative changes in the discs may result in damage that can cause pain. When a disc degenerates it can have tears or cracks that lose water, which cause it to become thinner and provide less padding to absorb movement. Degenerated discs can also bulge (herniate) and pinch the spinal cord or nerves, which causes loss of feeling, weakness, pain, or tingling down the arms and hands.

Treatment Options

Before artificial discs were available, patients would traditionally receive an Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) procedure to alleviate the pain from a herniated disc. In a fusion surgery, the disc is removed and either a bone spacer or a plastic implant will be placed in the disc space to restore disc height and remove pressure on the pinched nerves or spinal cord. A metal plate and screws can be placed on the front of the neck to hold the implant in place. The result of this procedure will be a segment that no longer moves, or is “fused”. The potential downside of a fusion procedure, in addition to the loss of motion, is that it can create additional stress on the spinal levels above and below it. This can cause degeneration at those levels and potentially result in another future surgery.

An artificial disc like Mobi-C is an option instead of a fusion that will also be placed inside the disc space to restore height and remove pressure on the pinched nerves. However, the Mobi-C device is designed to allow the neck to maintain normal motion and potentially prevent the adjacent levels from degenerating, possibly preventing future surgeries.

Mobi-C Video

Mobi-C Patient Testimonial

Mobi-C – How it Works

Mobile Core

Mobi-C is designed to replicate the natural motion of the cervical spine. Mobi-C’s mobile core slides and rotates inside the disc, self-adjusting to the patient’s cervical spine’s movements. This means that Mobi-C can react to the normal motion in the cervical spine.

In addition, the mobile core is designed to allow for some movement, reducing the forces between the implant and vertebral bodies. The Mobi-C does not need invasive fixation features found in some cervical disc replacement devices.

Bone Sparing

Mobi-C provides bone sparing fixation without chisel cuts into the small vertebral bodies of the cervical spine. Some competitive discs achieve their fixation via keel cuts or screw holes into the bone. Mobi-C was designed without a keel to minimize bone removal, applicable for both one and two-level indications. Minimizing bone removal can become important in two-level applications where integrity of the bone between the discs is important.