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Teaneck-based Holy Name Medical Center has become one of the first hospitals in the region to offer smart implants for patients who need to undergo knee replacement surgery.
In a Dec. 22 press release, Holy Name announced patients now have the option of receiving Persona IQ, a first-of-its-kind implantable device that allows for remote patient monitoring and collects post-surgery data on recovery progress.
Developed by Zimmer Biomet Inc., Persona IQ is the first and only smart knee implant granted De Novo status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for total knee replacement surgery.
According to Zimmer, the implant’s sensors measure information critical to recovery, including range of motion, step count, walking speed, stride length and distance walked. Data is securely delivered to a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant, cloud-based platform and then shared to an app that can be monitored and reviewed by the physician and patient.
The Persona IQ – which uses a pacemaker battery that lasts approximately 20 years – “will undoubtedly kick off an evolutionary process in orthopedic innovation,” said Dr. Dennis Pfisterer, orthopedic administrator and clinical director for sports health services at Holy Name.
“The surgery remains the same, but the information we’ll have access to now will allow us to personalize our patient’s rehabilitation program, tweak medication as necessary, and use data to assess how to even better improve mobility and movement,” he said.
The “smart knee” is the latest in Holy Name’s range of advanced orthopedic treatment options, including robotic and minimally-invasive technologies that give patients the quickest possible recovery.
