Mercy Medical Center now offers a new smart implant for the knee with benefits for patient and surgeon

BALTIMORE , Oct. 26, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Orthopedic surgeons Marc W. Hungerford, MD, Chief of Orthopedics at Mercy Medical Center, and Philip Neubauer, R.Ph., MD, Orthopedics and Joint Replacement at Mercy, are among the first surgeons in Maryland that offered “smart implant” technology during knee replacement surgeries.

Developed by ZIMMER BIOMET, the Persona IQ^® has a small “smart” stem extension attached to the lower portion of the implant. This stem contains sensors that record patient-specific movement data throughout the day, analyze it overnight and present it for assessment the next day.

“Essentially, it is a joint replacement that uses a prosthesis equipped with a smart device that can monitor the patient’s progress,” said Dr. Hungerford.

Surgeons and care teams can remotely access key postoperative metrics throughout their patient’s surgical journey, allowing them to monitor post-TKA (Total Knee Arthroplasty) activity levels between office visits.

The smart knee implant records relevant gait data, including:

• Functional range of motion of the knee (ROM)
• Qualified step count
• Walking speed
• Cadence
• Traveled distance
• Stride length

The smart knee implants provide a direct view of patient-specific data for at least 10 years, allowing surgeons to monitor their patients’ activity levels between visits. In this way, they can remain connected during the patient’s postoperative total knee arthroplasty care.

Additionally, being able to track their postoperative data can help patients feel more connected throughout their recovery journey, promoting greater patient interaction.

“Thanks to this new technology, there is greater patient involvement and surgeons can remotely monitor a patient’s progress. This means better management of postoperative care,” said Dr. Hungerford.

“With the Persona IQ, as a doctor I can no longer just estimate how well a patient’s joint is working after surgery; I have the data to determine how my patient is really doing,” said Dr. Neubauer.

“Mercy is always looking for ways to improve our patients’ experiences and treatment outcomes,” said Dr. Hungerford, “whether it be an emphasis on pre-surgical education, improvements to surgical pathways or advances in techniques and equipment. The smart implants offer real benefits for post-operative care, and we look forward to sharing them with patients.”

Founded in 1874 by The Sisters of Mercy, Mercy is home to the renowned Weinberg Center for Women’s Health & Medicine and the $400+ million, twenty-story Mary Catherine Bunting Center. Mercy is a university-affiliated teaching hospital and is nationally recognized with Magnet status for nursing excellence and named one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Orthopedic Surgery by Healthgrades. For more information about Mercy, visit http://www.mdmercy.com, MDMercyMedia on Facebook and Twitter(X), @MDMercy on Youtube, or call 1-800-MD-Mercy.

Media contact

Dan Collins, Mercy Medical Center, 4103329714, dcollins@mdmercy.com

SOURCE Mercy Medical Center