Device Aligns Hip Implant Cup (written by Biloine Young @ OTW)
According to an October 18 press release, a surgical instrument to better align an artificial hip implant’s cup was used for the first time commercially at Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel, New York, by Dr. Winshih Chang, an orthopedic surgeon with training in biomedical engineering. The HipSextant Navigation System, which received Class II FDA clearance as a patient-specific manual navigation instrument, was invented by Dr. Stephen Murphy. The system is designed to assist surgeons in placing the artificial implant’s cup, the hip socket component, into the pelvis with greater precision.
“Improper positioning of the cup is the largest unsolved problem in hip replacement surgery,” said Murphy. “The challenge for surgeons is, if you don’t know exactly where the pelvis is in space, you can’t possibly know exactly how to align the implant.”
The Navigation System, which can be adjusted for a specific patient, solves the problem, according to Murphy. Once the three legs of the instrument dock onto the pelvis, a direction indicator turns on and points in the direction that the surgeon has designated as the desired orientation of the cup.
Murphy noted the studies that have shown that poor positioning of the cup occurs in 50% to 80% of hip surgeries performed with traditional techniques and is one of the leading reasons for hip revision surgery. Among Medicare patients alone, hip revision surgery costs more than $500 million each year.
Chang used the new system to perform hip replacement surgery on a 74-year-old man. “It is a simple, elegant and reproducible way to approach placement of the implant cup,” said Chang. “In using the device, I was impressed by the thought and planning that went into its development.” Chang will use the HipSextant Navigation System again soon. “I have another patient on the schedule and will use it for that case,” he said. “I believe the device represents a significant improvement in patient care.”