ODT’s Most-Read Stories This Week—March 16

Words of caution and cheer drove the bulk of ODT website traffic this past week. 

The merryment came from new product rollouts by Medtronic and OrthoPediatrics while the warnings grew out of new study data. Medtronic led the way in pageviews with the U.S. launch of its new UNiD ePRO service; the company has partnered with OBERD, a practice intelligence data collection company, to give spine surgeons an electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) system. UNiD ePRO integrates with a customer’s electronic medical record (EMR) system in the hospital and clinic and the UNiD ASI (Adaptive Spine Intelligence) platform.

OrthoPediatrics followed suit by debuting its 71st pediatric orthopedic product, a solution to address early onset scoliosis (EOS). The system is specifically intended for those associated with or at risk of Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome. 

Offsetting the hope provided by the new innovations was study data alerting orthopedic surgeons and patients to the fracture risk associated with pickleball and the inconsist musculoskeletal health information provided by AI chatbots. 

Researchers examining pickleball-related fractures over the past two decades found a 90-fold increase, with most occurring in players aged 60-69. The fractures most observed were of the upper extremity in women aged 65 and older following a fall, potentially reflecting diminishing bone health of this postmenopausal population. 

A more significant word of warning stemmed from three studies that analyzed the validity of information large language model chatbots—ChatGPT, Google Bard, and BingAI—give to patients for certain orthopedic procedures; the analyses assessed the accuracy of the ways in which chatbots present research advancements and clinical decision making. The consensus: Chatbots are not the best sources of reliable data; they remain inferior to orthopedic surgeons. For now.

1. Medtronic Rolls Out Intelligent Data Collection for Spine Surgery

2. OrthoPediatrics’ RESPONSE Rib and Pelvic Fixation System for EOS Launched

3. ONWARD Medical’s ARC-BCI Accepted to FDA TAP Program

4. AI Chatbots Provide Inconsistent Accuracy for Musculoskeletal Health Info

5. New Study Identifies Increased Fracture Risk for Older Pickleball Players