In 1995, Sonospine founder and surgeon-in-chief Dr. Dilan Ellegala was a medical student on a neurosurgery rotation at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was surprised to see surgical instruments developed in the 1930s and ’40s still being used to perform spinal fusions. Dr. Ellegala’s journey to find a better technique led him to the university’s Applied Physics Laboratory, where a team was developing ultrasonic technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense.

“My ‘aha moment’ was asking myself why can’t we use this in brain and spine surgery?” he says.

Compared to a rongeur (a surgical cutting plier) or high-speed drill, ultrasonic energy could deliver the pinpoint precision Dr. Ellegala desired. In today’s version of the tool, a 1-millimeter instrument tip vibrates at ultrasonic frequency, allowing the surgeon to pare away bone, discs or ligaments that are compressing a nerve, millimeter by millimeter, without destabilizing the spine.

Dr. Ellegala first started using ultrasonic surgery—which the FDA approved in 2001—for cranial surgery in 2002 and spine surgery in 2007. “Initially, I only used it for lumbar problems, but the range has dramatically increased into the mid back and neck,” he says. “We can now treat most spine issues without requiring a spinal fusion.”

“Within the first few weeks of being here, two different people referred me specifically to Kate Van Driel (Vice President, Private Banking Relationship Manager) at National Bank of Arizona,” he says. “In addition to having outstanding customer service, they had a similar philosophy of giving back to the local community, as well as giving back to the world as a whole.”

Dr. Ellegala says the connection between NB|AZ and Sonospine is similar to a doctor-patient relationship. “Our patients usually come to us because they need surgery. But it’s an area they may not know anything or much about, so they’re anxious,” he says. “It’s the same for us as we’re building our business. The financial world is an area we don’t know much about, so the level of personal attention NB|AZ delivers is incredibly reassuring.”