Those venture capitalists and other investors who have been suggesting recently that the spinal device market is overheated, overcrowded, and basically over as a prime investment opportunity were few and far between at Windhover's "In Spine and Orthopedics" conference held in Las Vegas in December. The meeting, which is the largest strategic partnering conference for emerging spine and orthopedic companies, found investors and entrepreneurs feeling bullish about the prospects for the spinal device market, as reflected in the panel discussion excerpted here.

Hologic is garnering more attention these days than it might have in the past because it's just come off an "annus mirabilis." In 2006, Hologic made three vertical acquisitions in the area of breast cancer detection, and it reported stellar financial results. The company is now a market leader in osteoporosis assessment and has an approxmately 50% share of the conventional mammography customer base as well as an early lead in digital mammgoraphy, which is remarkable considering that it is a mid-sized company competing in capital equipment markets against the likes of GE and Siemens.

Medical device investors still see great potential in companies developing products to treat the spine. But they're particularly eager to find companies with fresh new approaches toward treatments rather than those that offer a marginal improvement to current products on the market.