Disclosed herein are joint implants and methods for tracking joint implant performance. Braces and trackers for assessing pre- or post-surgical kinematic movement of a joint are also disclosed. The implants, braces and trackers can be utilized together or separately. Trackers having magnets can be implanted in select areas of the joint and sensors included in the braces can cooperate with the trackers to provide joint movement information to both the patient and the surgeon. Braces that do not require cooperation with implanted trackers are also disclosed, as are their uses.

Disclosed herein are methods for determining kinematic information of a joint. A method according to one embodiment may comprise the steps of receiving data obtained from a sensor of an implanted joint implant, analyzing the data with a trained estimation model to simultaneously determine kinematic information of the joint in six degrees of freedom, and outputting the kinematic information. In another embodiment, a method may comprise the steps of applying data obtained from a Hall sensor of an implanted joint implant to a trained estimation model to simultaneously determine kinematic information of the joint in six degrees of freedom; and outputting the kinematic information.

A method for optimizing a knee arthroplasty surgical procedure includes receiving pre-operative data comprising (i) anatomical measurements of the patient, (ii) soft tissue measurements of the patient's anatomy, and (iii) implant parameters identifying an implant to be used in the knee arthroplasty surgical procedure. An equation set is selected from a plurality of pre-generated equation sets based on the pre-operative data. During the knee arthroplasty surgical procedure, patient-specific kinetic and kinematic response values are generated and displayed using an optimization process. The optimization process includes collecting intraoperative data from one or more surgical tools of a computer-assisted surgical system, and using the intraoperative data and the pre-operative data to solve the equation set, thereby yielding the patient-specific kinetic and kinematic response values. A visualization is then provided of the patient-specific kinetic and kinematic response values on the displays.

A wearable monitoring device has an elongated adhesive-bearing body that includes a controller and at least one sensor operatively connected to the controller. The sensors are disposed and configured to capture data associated with bodily joint movement when worn overlying and/or adjacent the joint. The sensors may capture data relating to one or more of angle of flexion, repetitions, range of motion, speed, body temperature, moisture, pH level, atmospheric conditions, and location. Captured data may be interpreted to identify movement parameters and compare them to applicable movement limits, such as those associated with post-operative instructions. Movements exceeding limits may result in alerts/warnings to the wearer, via an associated smartphone or wearable notification device. Movement and/or alert data may be transmitted to the user's smartphone, etc., to a centralized monitoring system, and/or to a healthcare provider's and/or electronic medical records system, to facilitate recordkeeping and patient monitoring.

A data processing method for determining a range of motion of an artificial knee joint which connects a femur and a tibia via a medial ligament and a lateral ligament, wherein at least the femur comprises an implant which forms a medial condyle and a lateral condyle, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring the maximum lengths of the lateral ligament and the medial ligament: for a particular flexion angle of the knee joint; calculating a first virtual position between the femur and the tibia in which the lateral condyle of the femoral implant touches the tibia and the medial ligament is stretched to its maximum length; calculating a maximum valgus angle of the range of motion from the first virtual position; calculating a second virtual position between the femur and the tibia in which the medial condyle of the femoral implant touches the tibia and the lateral ligament is stretched to its maximum length; and calculating a maximum yarns angle of the range, of motion from the second virtual position.

A data processing method for determining a range of motion of an artificial knee joint which connects a femur and a tibia via a medial ligament and a lateral ligament, wherein at least the femur comprises an implant which forms a medial condyle and a lateral condyle, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring the maximum lengths of the lateral ligament and the medial ligament for a particular flexion angle of the knee joint; calculating a first virtual position between the femur and the tibia in which the lateral condyle of the femoral implant touches the tibia and the medial ligament is stretched to its maximum length; calculating a maximum valgus angle of the range of motion from the first virtual position; calculating a second virtual position between the femur and the tibia in which the medial condyle of the femoral implant touches the tibia and the lateral ligament is stretched to its maximum length; and calculating a maximum varus angle of the range of motion from the second virtual position.

A surgical apparatus is configured to support at least one bone cut for installation of a prosthetic component. The installed prosthetic component will have reduced alignment error. The surgical apparatus is configured to distract a first compartment to a first predetermined load value while allowing a moving support structure to pivot freely. A distraction lock mechanism is then engaged to prevent movement of a distraction mechanism that raises or lowers the moving support structure relative to a fixed support structure. The moving support structure has M-L tilt angle that is measured. A M-L tilt mechanism is engaged to forcibly equalize the first and second compartments. Engaging the M-L tilt mechanism prevents the moving support structure from freely pivoting. The at least one bone cut relates to the first and second compartments equalized and the M-L tilt angle.

A system is disclosed herein for providing a kinetic assessment and preparation of a prosthetic joint comprising one or more prosthetic components. The system comprises a prosthetic component including sensors and circuitry configured to measure load, position of load, and joint alignment. The system further includes a remote system for receiving, processing, and displaying quantitative measurements from the sensors. The kinetic assessment measures joint alignment under loading that will be similar to that of a final joint installation. The kinetic assessment can use trial or permanent prosthetic components. Furthermore, adjustments can be made to the applied load magnitude, position of load, and joint alignment by various means to fine-tune an installation. The kinetic assessment increases both performance and reliability of the installed joint by reducing error that is introduced by elements that load or modify the joint dynamics not taken into account by prior assessment methods.

A system and method may be used to evaluate soft tissue. A hip joint evaluation may use an adjustable spacer, such as varying sized physical spacers or an inflatable bladder, along with a sensor to measure force, pressure, gap distance, or the like, for example during a range of motion test. A method may include using a maximum pressure during the range of motion test to determine a maximum pressure during the range of motion test. The maximum pressure may be output for display on a user interface.

This disclosure relates to a method of using an adjustable tibial sizer for use in knee arthroplasty. The sizer includes a two-part body comprising: a first body portion, a second body portion, and a connection element extending therebetween.