Spinal Solutions is accused of mixing authentic and counterfeit screws in surgical kits sent to doctors across the nation – can you guess which screw is legitimate? Credit: Julia B. Chan/Reveal

When it comes to medical hardware, who’s got your back?

The Food and Drug Administration is supposed to ensure that equipment going inside people’s bodies is manufactured by companies approved by the agency, but there’s a fissure in the system.

Reveal’s Will Evans and Christina Jewett follow up on a tip and discover a frightening lapse in the authenticity of surgical screws – the kind designed to be driven into your spine.

DIG DEEPER

Creative Commons License

Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.

Julia B. Chan worked at The Center for Investigative Reporting until June, 2017. Julia B. Chan is a producer and the digital editor for Reveal's national public radio program. She’s the voice of Reveal online and manages the production and curation of digital story assets that are sent to more than 200 stations across the country. Previously, Chan helped The Center for Investigative Reporting launch YouTube’s first investigative news channel, The I Files, and led engagement strategies – online and off – for multimedia projects. She oversaw communications, worked to better connect CIR’s work with a bigger audience and developed creative content and collaborations to garner conversation and impact.

Before joining CIR, Chan worked as a Web editor and reporter at the San Francisco Examiner. She managed the newspaper’s digital strategy and orchestrated its first foray into social media and online engagement. A rare San Francisco native, she studied broadcasting at San Francisco State University, focusing on audio production and recording. Chan is based in Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.