Smith & Nephew (S&N) says its new hip and shoulder anchor will provide precise and secure labral repairs for patients and surgeons.

These procedures involve reattaching a fibrous ring of cartilage around the joint socket to the bony part of the joint.

Announcing the launch of the Osteoraptor Anchor, S&N said the product includes a key ingredient called hydroxyapatite, which is a natural bone mineral and one that has been shown to help increase anchor strength and encourage a strong bond.

In addition, the Osteoraptor does not distort MRI images or appear on x-rays, because it is moulded from bioabsorbable Polylactic Acid Hydroxyapatite.

Hip surgeon Dr Marc Philippon of the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado, believes the equipment may be highly beneficial because of the challenges usually inherent in labral repairs.

"Labral repair in the hip is challenging to perform arthroscopically because of the lack of anchors and instrumentation designed for the confines of this difficult-to-access joint capsule," he said in an S&N statement.

Earlier this month, S&N announced the introduction of its knee replacement surgery instrumentation, which is called Visionaire.