New technologies and data analytics transform knee surgery
Sponsored by and provided by Zimmer Biomet
Every year, more than one million Americans undergo a hip or knee replacement procedure, designed to help relieve severe joint pain and increase mobility. With the number of elderly Americans set to increase by nearly 70% between this decade and 2060 [1], demand for these procedures is also expected to rise significantly.
With high demand and expectations, hospitals, surgical centers, and clinicians are looking to adopt new technologies to make surgeries more efficient and reproducible, help patients regain their mobility quickly and safely, and most importantly, provide patients the best possible surgical experience. So, it's no surprise that a digital revolution is underway at healthcare institutions around the country. Much like the way that technology enhances so many aspects of our everyday life, advanced surgical robotics, remote patient monitoring through wearable devices and sophisticated data analytics are helping healthcare professionals provide personalized and data-informed care.
Zimmer Biomet (ZB), a global medical technology leader, developed ZBEdge™ Dynamic Intelligence™ to elevate and unlock the full potential of its cutting-edge suite of integrated digital technologies, robotics and implant solutions. By seamlessly sharing data collected throughout a patient's surgical journey – from initial consultation through recovery and rehabilitation – ZBEdge provides doctors with data-driven insights to tailor surgical care plans to yield the best outcome for each patient.
"As a physician, I am entrusted with making countless care decisions that can have a long-standing impact on a patient's health, well-being, and ability to live life to the fullest. To live up to that trust that patients place in my team and me means that we must rely on the best and most accurate information and use the most precise tools whenever possible," said Dr. James Ballard*, an Oregon-based board-certified orthopedic surgeon. "ZBEdge consists of cutting-edge robotic and digital health technologies that are seamlessly connected to provide patient and procedural data that I can use to make personalized and informed clinical decisions for my patients."
Remote Patient Monitoring and Enhanced Communication with mymobility®
The ZBEdge experience begins before surgery, when a patient is set up to use mymobility®, a smartphone application that delivers support and guidance to help patients prepare for surgery. The app also allows patients to communicate with their care team through messaging and video visits, provides exercises for self-directed rehabilitation, and helps surgeons monitor a patient's progress after surgery by tracking step count, stand time and other movement metrics.
Earlier this year, ZB added artificial intelligence (AI)-based predictive analytics capabilities to ZBEdge with the launch of WalkAI™ Predicted Progress Exceptions. WalkAI utilizes a proprietary algorithm to predict a patient's gait (walking) speed at 90 days after surgery and compares the prediction against anonymized, real-world data from the extensive ZBEdge database to help surgeons identify when a patient's recovery may not be on track.
Pioneering Smart Implants with Persona IQ® The Smart Knee®
Another component of ZBEdge is Persona IQ®, the world's first and only smart knee implant that measures range of motion, step count, and other mobility data from within the knee implant. With a smart implant, patients never need to think about tracking post-operative activity manually – Persona IQ automatically transfers the data to their Home Base Station which securely delivers the data to a cloud-based platform through the internet. The motion data collected by the Persona IQ is displayed on the mymobility Care Management Platform, allowing surgeons and care teams to remotely access a patient's activity levels between post-operative office visits.
WARNING – The kinematic data from this device have not been demonstrated to have clinical benefit. It is not intended to be utilized for clinical decision-making, and no data have been evaluated by FDA regarding clinical benefits.
Transforming the Operating Room with Robotics, Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence
In the operating room (OR), ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence consists of Omni™ Suite Intelligent Operating Room, OptiVu™ Mixed Reality and ROSA® Knee, a robotic surgical assistant. ROSA Knee helps surgeons perform the surgery with precision and accuracy [2], while providing important real-time data on a patient's anatomy and procedure. Omni Suite helps optimize OR operating room workflow by using AI** cameras to automatically recognize and timestamp key workflow milestones, while OptiVu Mixed Reality merges real and virtual worlds to enable surgeons and care teams to educate, collaborate, and visualize in ways they never have before.
"Having a robot, or any other technology, in the operating room can't replace a surgeon – but it can make a surgeon better informed," added Dr. Ballard. "Because I can access so much real-world mymobility data about each patient via ZBEdge, I am able chart out the most efficient way to perform surgery based on each patient's unique anatomy, the pain they described before surgery, the metrics tracked by mymobility and more. By personalizing the procedure to this degree, we can help set up a patient for the best possible recovery experience."
Giving Data Power with Analytics
The data collected by the various components of ZBEdge is aggregated and translated into clinical insights by a sophisticated analytics engine. By comparing a patient's recovery data against aggregated data from other ZBEdge patients, surgeons may be able to better understand how their patient is progressing compared to other patients with similar profiles. Surgeons can apply these insights to make more informed clinical decisions.
Throughout the surgical journey, ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence enhances communication, enables data-driven care decisions, and ultimately helps surgeons strive for the best outcome for each patient.
"Our hope is that these technologies will help people with joint pain overcome their fears and gain the confidence to seek a much-needed joint replacement surgery that could help them regain mobility and resume their normal activities," Dr. Ballard added.
*Dr. Ballard is a paid Zimmer Biomet consultant.
** Artificial Intelligence (AI) was developed to support the existing administrative tasks to enhance the efficiency of the OR workflow. The AI does not function to support any clinical decisions.
For Patients
This material is intended for Healthcare Professionals. Zimmer Biomet does not practice medicine. Not all patients are candidates for these products and/or procedures.
Only a medical professional can determine the treatment appropriate for your specific condition. Talk to your surgeon about whether joint replacement is right for you and the risks of the procedure, including the risks of infection, implant wear, loosening, breakage or failure, any of which can require additional surgery. For additional information or to find a surgeon near you, visit www.zimmerbiomet.com
For Healthcare Professionals
For indications, contraindications, warnings, precautions, potential adverse effects and patient counseling information, see the package insert or contact your local representative; visit www.zimmerbiomet.com/zbedge for additional product information. (c) 2022 Zimmer Biomet.
References
[1] The U.S. Population Is Growing Older, and the Gender Gap in Life Expectancy Is Narrowing. PRB. (n.d.). https://www.prb.org/resources/u-s-population-is-growing-older/.
[2] Seidenstein A, Birmingham M, Foran J, Ogden S. Better accuracy and reproducibility of a new robotically-assisted system for total knee arthroplasty compared to conventional instrumentation: a cadaveric study. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2020 May 24. doi: 1007/s00167-020- 06038-w. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 32448945. Laboratory results are not necessarily indicative of clinical performance.