From a small amount of the patient's blood the GPS™ system will always provide the highest quality of platelet concentrate compared with any other system. The GPS™ offers many advantages for the patient, the nursing staff and the surgeon.

What is a platelet concentrate ?

A platelet concentrate produced by the GPS™ system is a platelet-rich gel made from the patient's own blood. By using the body's own cells any risks of infection are considered impossible.

The blood platelet concentrate is then reintroduced to the wound or the diseased tissue to speed up the body's natural healing response.

Why blood platelets ?

Platelets contain several growth factors that, when applied to a wound, speed the healing response. The growth factor PDGF, the transforming growth factor-beta ((TGF-ß) and the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are just some of the growth factors in blood platelets.

Advantages

For the patient:

• the blood is taken in the OR, in sterile conditions.
• the patient's own blood is used
• only a small amount of blood is needed (55-110 ml)
• the growth factors present in the body are reintroduced to the diseased area in a high concentration
• immediate, local effects

The secret of the Floating Buoy

Unlike the other systems, the GPS™ System separates different blood components, such as red blood cells, plasma and platelets, by means of a floating buoy. The patented, finally tuned buoy mechanism is designed to separate the plasma/red blood cell interface by reacting to the density of each cell layer. Under centrifugal forces the buoy will float within the tube to the optimum interface point of the red cell/"buffy coat" layer. The optimum interface point is found irrespective of the patient's hematocrit, thus ensuring a consistently high platelet count for each spin.

The GPS™ system isolates and concentrates a platelet-rich "buffy coat" that lies just above the floating buoy in the blood collection tube.

Usage of the platelet concentrate

The platelet concentrate can then be used in combination with bone substitues like Calcibon® Granules, Collapat® II or Bonus™. Adding the osteoinductive potential to the osteoconductive matrix of our bone substitutes will speed the mineralization process and also improve the density of trabecular bone. This can be very beneficial when used as filling material for cages.

Possible indications are: 

• bone defects
• pseudarthrosis
• non-unions
• vertebral fusions
• revision surgery, especially hip revisions for the acetabulum
• tendon injuries (for example, the Achilles tendon)
• chronic wounds (for example, diabetic ulcers)