Next-Gen Orthopedic Sensors Will Embrace Simplicity (MDDI)
To make it into the clinic, researchers say smart sensors for orthopedics will have to be surprisingly simple.
Attendees of the MD&M Chicago conference got an update on the state of smart sensors and implants for orthopedics. And while there still isn’t a technology ready for commercialization, researchers are moving into some areas that hold good promise for the future.
Eric Ledet, an associate professor of biomedical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY has spent a good part of his career focusing on developing next-generation sensors for orthopedic applications. He believes that the key to finally moving a smart orthopedic implant capable of monitoring patient conditions onto the market is to move toward simplicity and away from the overly complex systems of the past.
Research into smart implants for orthopedics has been going on since 1966 Ledet said. But none of the technologies developed ever made it into clinical phase because of their size, cost, and, in some cases, outright crudeness. Some of the earliest systems were even wired—meaning a patient would have wires connected t...
