The Intelligent Surgery Blog

At AAOS 2021, Enhatch hosted an Innovation Theater discussion where CEO Peter Verrillo showed us how enabling technologies can limit rotation when practicing this widely-used technique. 

Medical device companies are under pressure to do more with less. 

The healthcare system is focused on patient-centricity, which means having to sustain a high quality of service. Additionally, market competition between device companies is fierce, there are more regulations than years prior, and reimbursements continue to drop. 

Medical device companies must meet customer expectations, continue to innovate and stay competitive while lowering costs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be the balm to ease some of the burdens on medical device manufacturers. 

With in-person events being canceled or postponed for a year, the Enhatch team is SO excited to be attending the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting. This year’s conference will be in warm, and sunny California at the San Diego Convention Center. 

-     86% of surgeons reported an increase in preoperative workload before Total Joint Arthroplasty or TJA (2020 AAHKS surveys)

-     There is a huge need for faster, safer, and more accurate preoperative efficiency for elective orthopedic procedures

-     Intelligent AI-based preoperative planning solutions can ease the overall preoperative burden for surgeons and their staff

Prepping for surgery starts long before the surgeon scrubs up and walks into the operating room. For medical device companies, the logistics of planning for surgery involves inventory management, communication with the surgeon, and even tracking expenses. This person is responsible for all the instruments and implants in the operating room, and that is not a task to be taken lightly.

SUMMARY POINTS

• The longer the surgery, the greater the risk of post-surgical complications for patients. 
• Since most THAs and TKAs are elective procedures, better pre-operative planning can help improve patient outcomes. 

Surgical Time Affects Post-Surgical Complications

According to a study by the University of Chicago, patients who undergo THA or TKA surgery longer than 87 minutes are at a higher risk of wound complications. Longer surgical times also increase the risk of sepsis. And a review of over 200,000 TKAs performed in the United States showed that the operative time was strongly related to patient Length of Stay (LOS). LOS is a significant factor affecting patient outcomes.  And though rare after total joint surgery in the United States, longer surgical times are associated with sepsis  - a severe complication that can elevate a patient’s mortality rate.

Preoperative Planning for Total Hip Arthroplasty in ASCs:
Improving Accuracy, Efficiency, and Patient Satisfaction

Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) are changing the face of orthopedic procedures. THA surgeries in an ASC setting have been successful with low reoperation rates, readmission rates, infection rates, and patient satisfaction scores as high as 99%. For now, slightly more than 500 ASCs in the United States offer total joint replacement surgeries as outpatient procedures. But that number is rapidly increasing.  

Enhatch Announces Growth Investment to Make Surgeries Faster, Safer, Smarter 

One secret to faster, safer, and more accurate orthopedic surgeries? Extensive preoperative planning for orthopedics. While it’s common for medical device companies, surgeons, and hospitals to utilize pre-op planning software and rely on this process, technology in this space is quickly changing.