Bionic smart knee helps to improve patient's ability to walk
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A new bionic body part that talks to your phone, this is not science fiction, it's the next frontier in knee replacements that's arrived in Philadelphia. It's called a "smart knee," a new technology designed to improve recovery after knee replacement surgery.
It takes the guesswork out of monitoring how the new joint is working
"This is doing extremely well," Donna Cordero said.
She has a new smart knee. It's an implant that's equipped with sensors that track her mobility.
"You can see my progress," Cordero said.
The movement information from the knee is wirelessly transmitted to a personal base station that sends the data to the patient's phone and the doctor's office
"It sends us half a dozen pieces of information," Dr. Robert Booth, who is with 3B Orthopaedics at Jefferson Health, said.
He also says this is the first time specific movements can be monitored and measured from inside the knee.
"I don't mean to infer that the other knees are dumb knees, it's just we don't get any info back," Booth said. "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."
Cordero is Booth's first patient to get the smart knee replacement.
"I am feeling fantastic, I really am," Cordero said. "It was the best thing I ever did for getting rid of the pain."
Now, everyday activities like walking and sitting are easy and painless.
"Now, I really can do whatever I want to do," she said.
Cordero says tracking her mobility allowed her to adjust her physical therapy accordingly, which she says improved her recovery.
"For me, it's been a wonderful experience a total success," Cordero said.
The smart knee does not have a GPS, it doesn't track the patient's locations, it only measures knee movements.
It's equipped with a battery that lasts for 10 years. After that, it stops transmitting but doesn't interfere with how the implant continues to function.
