DePuy Joins Customized Knee Surgery Club (written by Walter Eisner @ OTW)
DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. has jumped into the customized knee replacement surgery market with the FDA clearance for the use of its TruMatch Personalized Solutions with the company’s Sigma Fixed-Bearing Knee System.
The company joins Biomet, Inc. and Stryker Corp., among others, with a personalized knee surgery system.
Reduced OR Time
The system, available immediately, is a surgical instrumentation and computer software system that, according to a company statement, is designed to aid in knee implant positioning and procedure efficiency. The company says the system will help reduce costs by decreasing OR time by an average of 35 minutes. The procedure will require less instrumentation and eliminate up to nine surgical steps compared to total knee replacement performed without the system.
DePuy’s new president, Andrew Ekdahl, said the system has the potential to improve patient care while reducing costs.
Daniel Hoeffel, M.D., of Summit Orthopaedic Group in St. Paul, Minnesota, said the technology, “helps surgeons consistently provide knee replacement patients a customized fit and enables them to do the operation in less time. Patients, surgeons and the health care system all benefit from advancements in technology that provide greater efficiencies and individualize treatment.”
Femoral and Tibial Cutting Blocks
The company says TruMatch is the first system to utilize CT scans and computer software to guide the development and production of femoral and tibial cutting blocks that are individually prepared to match the actual bone surfaces of each patient. Precise positioning of the knee implant is critical to its overall performance. Also, the use of CT scans, rather than MRIs, results in improved bone imaging, less scanning time and lower costs.