The digital future of orthopedics will advance personalized patient care and has the potential to significantly curb healthcare spending, according to Bill Hunter, M.D., President and CEO of Canary Medical. His company continues to collaborate with Zimmer Biomet to develop Persona IQ, the smart knee implant that captures kinematic data as patients recover from knee replacement surgery. A version of Persona IQ with a 35mm “stubby” stem and advanced sensor technology recently received FDA 510(k) clearance.
To highlight the cost-saving impact of smart implant technology, Dr. Hunter referenced a joint replacement surgeon in rural Indiana who performs 1,000 knee replacements annually. Traditionally, managing such a high volume of patients would involve numerous in-person postoperative visits. However, the surgeon has adopted a “virtual-first” approach.
He initially sees patients two weeks after surgery to remove staples at the incision site and to conduct a thorough assessment. Then, he adopts a more passive approach, using Canary Medical’s smart implant technology to monitor patients’ progress remotely.
For patients progressing well in their recoveries, the surgeon conducts follow-up phone calls at one, two and three months post-op. Conversely, care plans are adjusted for patients falling behind in their expected recovery trajectory. This streamlined approach saves approximately 2,500 clinic visits annually, according to Dr. Hunter.
Remote monitoring has significantly increased the Indiana surgeon’s patient follow-up rates. He used to lose touch with about half of his patients, many of whom lived long distances from his clinic. Now, over 90% of his patients are monitored remotely.
Smart implant technology has been instrumental in allowing care teams to identify potential issues during recoveries and intervene early. For instance, Persona IQ can detect whether a patient’s range of motion in the knee deteriorates rapidly post-surgery. The surgeon’s practice can then reach out, sometimes via video calls, and adjust physical therapy regimens or make other interventions to ensure patients’ recoveries get back on track.
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