Future Trends in Orthopedic Technology….Just my opinion

Future Trends in Orthopedic Technology…..smart and responsive

 

Orthopedic Technology continues to evolve and there are more treatment options available to patients each year.   Below is a list of trends and innovations that I see coming in the future:

·         Researchers will discover drugs that actually “tease” cartilage into repairing itself.  Cartilage transplants (or ACTS) will become a thing of the past.

·         Surgeons will use adult stems cells to promote regrowth in bone and tissues.

·         Antibiotic coatings on implants will delivery higher doses near the implant where a patient needs it. 

·         Implants will contain time-released drug delivery.  Patients will benefit with pain relief and/or infection fighting on demand and local.

·         Smart implants with embedded microchips that collect data about what is going on inside the patient and when necessary relays that information to health care workers.  These chips will make outpatient surgery available for ALL procedures.

·         Tissue sparing or MIS surgery will become the standard for all orthopedic procedures.

·         Surgery will improve with better visualization during surgery.  Many instruments will contain tiny cameras that relay wireless images to the OR monitor.

·         Smaller Surgical Navigation systems in the future will be the size of a Laptop not a refrigerator. 

·         New technology in cold cutting instruments will decrease morbidity.

·         The trend in partial joint implants will continue that only replace the effected cartilage area.  Resurfacing hip replacements are on the rise.  More companies like ArthroSurface will emerge to offer implants like the Hemi-CAP for small cartilage lesions.

Agree?  Disagree?  What do you see in the crystal ball?