On Aug. 2, 2007, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) became the state’s only medical center to implant a new artificial disc recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating degenerative cervical disc disease.

The surgically implanted, stainless steel disc, manufactured by Minneapolis-based Medtronic, was intended to relieve neck pain and stiffness, and occasional weakness or numbness in the arms, due to a pinched nerve.