ODT’s Top 10 list chronicles the orthopedic technology companies that have amassed the highest annual revenue. They aren’t the sole source for interesting and innovative technologies, however—many novel orthopedic solutions emerge from smaller firms flying under the radar. These organizations are integral to improving orthopedic care and have piqued the ODT editors’ interests.
CyMedica Orthopedics & Kaia Health
Sam Brusco • Associate Editor
Orthopedics has traditionally been a data-driven discipline. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), for example, founded the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) in 2009 as a national center to collect hip and knee replacement data. According to AAOS, the AJRR’s database contains over 1.5 million procedures. By collecting and reporting procedural data, AJRR offers actionable information to guide physician and patient decision making, empowering healthcare organizations to enhance the patient experience and reduce complications and revision rates. AJRR also helps device manufacturers strengthen postmarket surveillance.
A digital health strategy can work wonders for the data-driven orthopedic field. Digital health technologies engage information and communication technologies to improve healthcare delivery’s efficiency, which is integral in transitioning to value-based care. Hardware and software both play a role in a digital health device, leveraging telemedicine, web-based analysis, e-mail, smartphones and apps, text messages, wearable devices, and clinic or remote monitoring sensors. New computing capabilities and learning systems emerge all the time, enabling much greater capacity to use information to generate new insights, implement predictive models, and create adaptive solutions for musculoskeletal care.
Knee-Jerk Reaction
Scottsdale, Ariz.-based CyMedica Orthopedics begins its description with “We are here to support value-based care.” Founded in 2013 by a prominent orthopedic surgeon and several medical device entrepreneurs, the company targets knee surgery rehabilitation. CyMedica asserts patient engagement outside the office is key to successful value-based care implementation—specifically by making rehab more personalized, accessible, and easier for patients.
e-vive, CyMedica’s app-controlled, data-driven muscle activation therapy and patient engagement solution, won FDA clearance in January 2017. The tele-rehab solution for ACL and total knee replacement surgery patients consists of three components. A sensor-laden conductive garment captures and transmits range of motion data and steps while holding electrodes in place to deliver effective quadriceps activation via neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). A controller monitors and controls the muscle stimulation. The e-vive app, operable on any smartphone, collects data points and sends them to the cloud for physicians or physical therapists to view and analyze. Treatment is then adjusted (or kept the same) based on clinician review.
By Sam Brusco, Sean Fenske, and Michael Barbella | Orthopedic Design & Technology
Image Credit: IlluminOss
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