A ground-breaking innovation is set to revolutionise knee surgery, offering surgeons a new level of precision in implant alignment.
A collaboration between a university doctoral student and a surgical navigation and robotics company has led to the development of a sophisticated computational knee model.
The model is designed to assist surgeons in positioning implants more accurately during knee replacement surgeries.
The mastermind behind this cutting-edge research is Aaron Henry, a fourth-year PhD student enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Engineering programme at the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University, who collaborated with Caira Surgical, a company specialising in surgical navigation and robotic orthopaedic surgery.
Aaron's research primarily focuses on validating the company’s proprietary technology.
More than one million knee replacement surgeries were performed in the US in 2020.
The increasing number of cases of osteoarthritis is believed to have boosted the market for knee replacement surgeries.
However, up to 20% of patients have expressed dissatisfaction with the outcomes, citing issues such as poor implant alignment and biomechanics.
Surgeons generally estimate the correct location to place an implant based on their ligament strain diagnosis.
Unfortunately, this method is not entirely fool-proof, leading to occasional problems that require additional surgeries for revision.
Revision rate is one of the most important outcome measures of joint replacement surgery.
This latest breakthrough lies in the implementation of computational modelling, which offers an alternative approach to implant positioning.
Surgeons can now use the advanced technology to review the optimal orientation of an implant with greater accuracy and identify potential misalignments before final placement.
Through simulations, they can assess how the implant will interact with the body, predict post-surgery knee motion and anticipate any significant impact on mobility.
To validate the computational knee model, Henry conducted experiments involving a physical 3D-printed knee model with motion capture markers.
The results demonstrated that the computational model accurately predicted the performance of the physical model in real-world scenarios.
Dr Andrew Robbins, a research assistant professor in the School of Engineering Medicine and the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M and one of Aaron’s advisors, praised the work done in collaboration with Caira.
He acknowledged its potential to positively impact a large number of patients in need of joint replacements.
He also emphasised that Aaron's research lays the groundwork for substantial improvements in clinical practice in the near future.
Recently, Aaron presented his research paper titled, Experimental Validation of a Computational Knee Model of TKR Implant Placement, at the prestigious Design of Medical Devices Conferences held at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Earlier this year, scientists reported that pre-surgery exercise and education for patients waiting for total knee replacement could aid function and muscle strength post-op.
The research, published in JAMA Network Open, showed evidence of moderate certainty of improved function and muscle strength, with authors suggesting their study ‘contributes to understanding the role that muscle strength may play in the variability of surgical outcomes’.
Meanwhile, researchers in Canada are looking into whether the use of a daily probiotic can improve outcomes in patients who undergo total knee replacement surgery.
The success of this latest project wouldn't have been possible without the contributions of other key members, including Gordon Goodchild, Vice President of Research and Development and Jon Greenwald, co-founder and CEO of Caira Surgical.
Dr Morteza Meftah, an orthopaedic surgeon at New York University Langone Health and Dr Michael Moreno, Aaron's second advisor and associate professor in the J Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M, also played significant roles in the research process.
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Photo caption: Aaron Henry partnered with Caira Surgical to validate their computational modelling for knee implant placement. Credit: Texas A&M Engineering Communications
