The Memo: Solenic Medical Transforming PJI Treatment with Magnetic Precision

Under the direction of CEO and Chairman James Lancaster, Solenic Medical is pioneering a radically noninvasive approach to a devastating healthcare challenge: prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). With a platform that uses alternating magnetic fields to generate targeted heat on metallic implants, Solenic offers a new way to disrupt bacterial biofilms—without surgery, synergistic with the standard of care use of antibiotics, and without compromise.

“We’re the only non-surgical treatment for these infections,” Lancaster said. “And the outcomes we’re aiming to prevent—loss of limb or even life—are unfortunately far too common.”

As the company prepares to expand clinical studies and make plans for global markets, it’s bringing new hope to thousands of patients who currently face repeat surgeries, mobility loss, and grim survival odds.

Origin Story

Solenic’s technology was born at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where infectious disease physician Dr. David Greenberg and physicist Dr. Rajiv Chopra set out to solve one of medicine’s most difficult problems: infections tied to implanted medical devices. The culprit? Biofilm—a sticky layer of bacteria that shields infections from antibiotics and the immune system.

“These infections often don’t respond to antibiotics alone,” Lancaster explained. “You need to physically disrupt the biofilm. Traditionally, that means invasive surgeries.”

Greenberg and Chopra believed there had to be a better way. Their collaboration led to an innovative concept: alternating magnetic fields (AMFs) to heat metal implants from the outside, targeting the biofilm directly and noninvasively. Their early lab work showed promise, and by October 2018, Lancaster joined the team to explore commercialization. Solenic Medical was officially founded in February 2019.

The Current Landscape

PJIs are a silent crisis in orthopedic care. Though official estimates suggest a 2% infection rate in knee replacements, Lancaster said most physicians would agree that the real number is closer to 4–5%. With more than 1.8 million knee implants performed annually in the United States alone, that’s upwards of 60,000 infections—each one a potential cascade of surgeries, complications, and devastating outcomes.

“The current standard of care is brutal,” Lancaster said. “You start with weeks and weeks of antibiotics, then surgeries to open the implant site, scrape out infected tissue, and sometimes even remove and replace the implant entirely.”

Worse yet, these interventions often fail. “There’s about a 44% chance that each procedure won’t work and a 26% chance of amputation within five years for patients with an indicated infection,” he added. “It’s also on par with breast and prostate cancer mortality risk.”

Inside the Innovation

At the heart of Solenic’s solution is a shaped alternating magnetic field that delivers targeted thermal therapy to infected implants—without touching the body. The company’s system induces eddy currents on the surface of the implant, heating it precisely to disrupt the biofilm with minimal risk surrounding tissue.

“This is thermal medicine,” Lancaster said. “We’re delivering a therapeutic dose—measured by time and temperature—without cutting the patient open.”

The target? Biofilm—an insidious shield of bacteria that clings to the surface of implants and resists antibiotics. “Everyone’s familiar with biofilm,” Lancaster noted. “It’s the stuff you brush off your teeth every morning. You can gargle with mouthwash all you want, but if you don’t brush, it stays there. That’s exactly what happens on implants—it has to be physically disrupted.”

What makes Solenic’s approach different is how it achieves that disruption noninvasively. “Heating the implant isn’t hard—that happens by accident in MRIs,” he said. “The challenge is doing it safely and evenly, across different implant types, without hot spots. That’s what we’ve solved and refer to as our magic of shaping the field.”

Progress and Milestones

Solenic has come a long way, from benchtop experiments to clinical translation. The company has:

• Completed extensive preclinical work, including multiple mice and sheep studies and successful cadaver testing.
• Begun enrolling patients in its first-in-human feasibility trial focused on knee implants and successfully treated its first patient on March 24, 2025.
• Initiated design and development of transducers for hips and tibial nails.
• Earned FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, helping accelerate regulatory pathways.
• Partnered with EPIC Venture Partners to launch its Series B fundraising round, which will support additional indications and pivotal trials.

The company is also planning a pivotal trial for knees with a goal to start by the end of 2025—and is expanding its presence internationally.

“Asia is a major focus,” Lancaster said. “We’re already fabricating our system carts in Taiwan, and we’re seeing investor and clinical interest from Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.”

Back in the United States, Solenic has identified a targeted launch strategy focused on fellowship-trained revision specialists—about 400 surgeons who handle the highest volume of complex joint infections. “Roughly half of these procedures happen in just 300 hospitals,” he explained. “It’s a tightly defined market, which makes for a very efficient rollout.”

Most moving, perhaps, is the global patient demand already building. “We’ve had patients reach out from Africa, Israel, and the Middle East, and Australia, desperate for an option that doesn’t involve another surgery,” Lancaster said. “Some of them may qualify for our studies. But what it really tells us is—this can’t come soon enough.”

Market Insights

According to LSI’s Surgical Procedure Volumes (SPV) database, the volume of knee replacement surgeries shows no sign of slowing down worldwide. From 2024 to 2029, the 4.3 million procedures performed in 2024 will increase at a CAGR of 7.9%, reaching an estimated 6.4 million procedures by 2029.

The cost of PJI worldwide is monumental, not just in economic terms but in terms of patient quality of life. Assuming the rate of PJI is 2%, this would translate to ~86,000 cases worldwide in 2024. The rate of PJI is likely higher than what is reported in the literature.

Two-stage revisions are considered the standard of care for both hip and knee PJI. For knees, this entails an average cost of ~$38,000.

That means that annually, the direct cost of PJI is ~$3.3 billion worldwide. Beyond the financial burden, the impact on patients is profound—two-stage revision procedures can require weeks of recovery and still can result in failure.

The need for better solutions is demonstrated by the number of companies emerging to tackle implant-based infections. These companies are capturing the attention of both investors and strategics, such as Johnson & Johnson. The medtech giant’s JJDC venture arm led Solenic Medical’s Series A round back in 2023. 

Recent investments and acquisitions by J&J show that when the company makes a move, the rest of the industry pays attention.

Join Us at LSI Asia ‘25

Lancaster has been selected to present at LSI Asia '25 (June 10-13) in front of hundreds of global medical technology companies. Join us in welcoming Lancaster to the event in Singapore, where he will share the latest updates on Solenic Medical’s technology and development.