ArthroCare Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and markets medical devices for use in soft-tissue surgery. Its products are based on the patented soft-tissue surgical controlled ablation technology called Coblation technology. The company offers Coblation-based devices for arthroscopy/sports medicine, spinal surgery, and ear, nose, and throat (ENT) applications. The company’s products for sports medicine include Arthroscopic System, which is used to treat various orthopedic conditions, including those involving knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, tendons, and hips. Its spinal surgery products include the DLR, DLG, and DC SpineWand Convenience Packs for minimally invasive disc decompression; MD SpineWand surgical device for microdiscectomy cases; and vertebral access and bone biopsy needles, cement delivery systems, bone cement and opacifiers, and ancillary devices for minimally invasive repair of vertebral compression fractures. The company also provides Plasma Disc Decompression, a minimally invasive disc decompression procedure using Coblation technology to treat symptomatic patients with contained herniated discs. ArthroCare’s ENT products includes suction wands that simultaneously ablate and remove tissue in applications, such as tonsillectomy; channeling wands for controlled ablation and coagulative lesion formation in applications, such as turbinate reduction to relieve nasal obstruction and stiffening of the soft palate for the treatment of snoring; and excision wands that provide precise dissection of soft tissue with minimal damage to surrounding tissue. The company markets and sells its products using a combination of distributors, direct sales force, and corporate partners primarily in the Americas, the United Kingdom, and Germany. ArthroCare Corporation was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.