ODT’s Most-Read Stories This Week—March 12

New products and personnel drove ODT website traffic this past week.

Globus Medical co-founder Andrew Iott’s appointment to Waypoint Orthopedics’ board took top billing in page views. Iott has more than 20 years of medical device industry experience, having most recently served as senior vice president of Global Product Development at Globus Medical, a company he co-founded in 2003. Iott currently is an advisor and investor to various life sciences companies. 

Products that warranted readers’ attention included 3D printed patient specific hip and shoulder implants, a neural sleeve, and an artificial intelligence-based system for predicting post-operative recovery.

The patient-specific implants from LimaCorporate were designed and built at the ProMade PoC Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City. The hip surgery was performed at HSS, while the shoulder procedure took place at the OrthoCarolina Center in Charlotte, N.C. Formed through a longstanding LimaCorporate-HSS deal, the ProMade PoC Center helps enhance collaboration between design and manufacturing engineers and surgeons for building patient-specific technologies before they are 3D printed at the onsite facility. The process shortens the time to surgery by weeks.

The Neural Sleeve came from Cionic. The sleeve is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for functiional electrical stimulation to help with gait in those with foot drop and weak leg muscles. The Neural Sleeve can help people with mobility issues due to multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, and other neurological conditions.   

Zimmer Biomet unveiled WalkAI, an AI-based technology that helps identify patients with lagging gait speed during their hip or knee surgical recoveries. WalkAI uses a proprietary algorithm to analyze a patient’s mobility to generate a personalized daily prediction of their gait (walking) speed three months after surgery. The daily prediction is compared to anonymized, real-world data from the ZBEdge database to identify when a patient’s recovery may not be on track based on predicted low gait speed. The solution adds predictive analytic capabilities to ZBEdge, a suite of integrated smart, digital and robotic technologies purposefully engineered to deliver data-powered clinical insights with the goal of improving patient outcomes.  

Website visitors also favored a Q&A about hydrogen peroxide sterilization. 

1. Andrew Iott Joins Waypoint Orthopedics Board
 

2. LimaCorporate, HSS’s 3D-Printed Patient-Specific Implants Used in First Surgeries
 

3. FDA OKs Cionic’s Neural Sleeve
 

4. Zimmer Biomet Unveils AI Model to Predict Post-Op Recovery Progress
 

5. A New Twist on Hydrogen Peroxide Sterilization—An Orthopedic Innovators Q&A