Kinomatic, WHOOP Team Up for Post-Op Joint Replacement Recovery

Kinomatic, a company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) powered orthopedic surgery planning and concierge recovery, began a partnership with human performance company WHOOP to launch the Kinomatic RESTORE pilot.

According to the company, RESTORE is the first concierge recovery program for joint replacement that uses continuous biometric monitoring into the post-op experience. The program seeks to close the gap between a successful procedure and consistently positive outcomes.

While joint replacement is one of modern medicine’s most successful procedures, recovery is typically limited to a two-week follow-up and occasional physical therapy, giving surgeons little insight into patients’ progress. The RESTORE pilot was built to show that a high-touch, data-informed recovery model can boost outcomes, speed healing, and minimize reliance on opioids.

The WHOOP Unite platform will offer visibility into each patient’s continuous heart rate variability (HRV), sleep, strain, and recovery data. The desired result is higher quality check-ins supported by data, earlier identification of anomalies in recovery, and personalized protocols.

One of RESTORE’s main goals is to spare patients from taking opioids as much as possible. The protocol has reportedly removed the need for heavy narcotics by replacing aggressive physical therapy with self-paced home exercises, which can curb the severe joint inflammation that usually drives demand for opioids. 86% of total knee replacement patients following the protocol took ten or fewer opioid tablets during recovery, with many taking none at all.

Large-scale, synthesized data generated through the partnership also seeks to create more powerful AI-learning loops and speed adoption of orthopedic best practices.

The 12-week pilot will include over 100 total hip and knee replacement surgery patients. Outcomes will measure range of motion in knee flexion (target 115 degrees) and hip flexion (90-100 degrees) at two weeks post-op, with ten or less opioids used, and a net promoter score of over 85, with follow-up lasting one year post-op.

About two weeks ago, Kinomatic closed a $4 million seed funding round led by Waterline Ventures.

Comments from Kinomatic, WHOOP, and clinicians

Dr. Dan Henderson, Head of Medical Innovation, WHOOP: “One of the critical moments in patients’ health journeys is the path leading up to surgery and the recovery afterward. This partnership with Kinomatic RESTORE will help patients and their care teams unlock better outcomes through improved readiness for surgery and more fine-tuned recovery afterward.”

Shaun Lea, CEO, Kinomatic: “For decades, progress in orthopedics has been constrained by small, expensive clinical studies that take years to translate into everyday practice. By combining continuous real-world population-level data from WHOOP with Kinomatic’s surgical planning and recovery protocols, we’re setting up a new AI-driven standard in orthopedic care. Learning from thousands of patients at once to continuously refine the care pathway gives RESTORE the ability to use information that was previously locked away into actionable guidance for both surgeons and patients.”

RESTORE pilot participant Dr. Alexander Sah, Sah Orthopedic Associates: “The RESTORE pilot is focused on changing the status quo in total joint replacement surgery, shifting expected outcomes from good enough to consistently great. The approach is designed to keep patients engaged and pain-free, aligning with the growing movement to reduce opioid dependency in post-surgical orthopedic care.”