Orthopedics Today reports on results presented at the 2022 International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty (ISTA) Annual Congress by HSS knee surgeon Fred David Cushner, MD, finding a sensor-enabled tibial stem may successfully collect kinematic mobility data to be used for predictive value and better patient care after total knee arthroplasty.

Dr. Cushner explained, “What we found was that, compared to wearables, this [sensor-enabled tibial stem] is a highly reliable collection device. The data is not only collected, but it is also transmitted with over 99% success, and we concluded that we can monitor patients’ walking speed, cadence and other gait parameters reliably when this device is placed.”

Dr. Cushner continued, “We are focusing, right now, on recovery, but once these are [implanted] for 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years – our battery lasts 20 years – we may be able to look at gait patterns for happy patients vs. not happy patients. Who knows, we may see a certain pattern predictive of infection,”

He added, “These are all speculative, but we all know that with big data and [artificial intelligence] AI, we find out a lot of things the more patients that have this done.”

Read the full article at Healio.com.