Jacob Ziegler, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato, Minn., recently became the system's first surgeon to use new sensor technology licensed by Zimmer Biomet through a partnership with Canary Medical.
Zimmer Biomet's smart orthopedic knee implants function like standard knee replacements, but include a sensor that remotely monitors and tracks a patient's recovery by measuring range of motion, steps, stride and other data associated with gait, according to an Aug. 20 press release.
Dr. Ziegler and Cory Couch, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., are the only two Mayo Clinic surgeons who have implanted smart knee replacements in patients.
The technology is expected to become widely available after Mayo Clinic's trial period of the technology.
The battery on the sensor is guaranteed to last 10 years, although many will likely last longer, according to the release.
When the battery dies, the knee replacement continues to function like a traditional knee replacement.