iPod guides doc in knee surgery

The concept of using computers in total knee replacement surgeries has gained ground only in the recent years. When the knee joint is badly aligned,the effectivity of the new prosthetic knee joint is reduced and patients end up going back for a revision surgery in extreme cases. Currently,five per cent of patients end up having revision surgeries. To avoid this,surgeons have been using computers on a real time basis during the operation to achieve high precision alignment of the knee joint with the new prosthetic that the patient will be wearing. In this case,Mullaji tried to do away with the computer and replaced it with the iPod.

“Computers are at a distance and it can be cumbersome and time-consuming for the surgeon to feed the data and get the alignment right from that distance. The iPod,on the other hand,is handy,” Mullaji said.

The screen of the iPod may be small and the cost of the application,which is yet to be fixed by the company Smith&Nephew,could be prohibitive,but Mullaji said these are not yet the challenges. “If anything,the operation was at least twice as much easy using an iPod against a computer that is at a distance. Surgeons could have some trouble figuring out the touch screen,but once they get used to it,it is likely to be better,” Mullaji said.

“We have not figured out the cost of the application as we have not yet sold one,” said Tim Frandsen,director Global Surgical Navigation of Smith&Nephew. In the beginning,the company hopes to let hospitals use this device to prove real time usability. Around 35 hospitals across the world,including five in India,may get an opportunity to use this device over the next two months,Frandsen said.