You’ve heard of smartphones and smartwatches, but could a smart knee be something you’ll have in the near future?
Biometric data continues to make it easier for people to monitor their health and make adjustments as needed. Smartwatches and fitness trackers keep track of our pulse, blood oxygen levels and sleep quality, and medical experts are continuing to explore new ways to harvest data in order to better improve patient care. Now their eyes are set on implementing smart knee devices to collect real-time data that can provide more answers than a surgeon or physical therapist can see during a post-op evaluation.
Smart Knee Technology
The technology is already being implemented on a small scale, as these new smart knees are equipped with sensors that can document a patient’s mobility during their recovery. Movement data is collected by the sensors and then wirelessly transmitted to other locations, like a patient’s phone or the doctor’s office. With the help of a connected app, patients can see how they are moving and where they could stand to make improvements during their recovery.
“I don’t mean to infer that other knees are dumb knees, it’s just we don’t get any info back,” said Dr. Robert Booth of 3B Orthopaedics at Jefferson Health, who recently implanted his first smart knee into a patient. “It infers from the length of your stride and the cadence of your stride, whether you’re limping, whether you’re taking big steps, whether you’re getting back into your normal pattern.”
Not only can doctors see how their patients are recovering, but this data can also help adjust a physical therapy plan accordingly. If a patient is making great progress or dealing with muscle weakness in a specific area, this can be easily recognized thanks to the biometric data and the therapy team can hyperfocus on these areas of need.
The smart knee that Dr. Booth installed on his patient has a battery that lasts for 10 years, which should be more than enough time for a patient to experience the fullest recovery possible after a replacement procedure. And while the sensors can wirelessly transmit data to your phone or the doctor’s office, those who fear Big Brother can take solace in knowing that the sensors don’t have GPS technology, so while your every move may be tracked, your specific location will remain a mystery.
This type of smart knee still seems like it’s years away from mass adoption, but it falls in line with a number of futuristic advancements that we are seeing in other arenas. We’ve been hearing about toilets that can analyze your health through your waste and implantable devices that can help monitor and control the blood glucose levels of diabetics, so we shouldn’t be surprised that the field of joint replacement surgery is also looking to help patients by incorporating more real-time data. And while Dr. Botero isn’t planning on installing a smart knee in the near future, it’s certainly a field we’re excited to learn about and watch grow in the coming years.
For now, if you want to learn more about the standard full or partial knee replacement operations, reach out to Dr. Botero and his team today at (865) 558-4444.
