Bringing Augmented Reality to Knee Replacements: Nick The Knee MD on Apple Valley News
Augmented reality isn’t just for the gamers: it’s for knee replacements, too!
On August 23rd, Dr. Nick Kennedy was featured on Apple Valley News’ Health Update for a segment on how he and his team at Multi-Care Orthopedics Northwest in Yakima are personalizing every knee replacement surgery for each unique patient’s needs. Through an augmented reality technology called Arvis, Dr. Kennedy uses a wearable system that delivers real-time, hands-free surgical guidance. The coolest part? Dr. Kennedy was the catalyst behind bringing Arvis to Yakima, making it the only place patients can get access to this technology in the PNW.
“Right now, Yakima Memorial [Multi-Care Orthopedics Northwest] is the only hospital in the whole Pacific Northwest that has this technology [Arvis],” Dr. Kennedy told reporter Emily Goodell.
Dr. Nick Kennedy sits down with Apple Valley News to demonstrate how Arvis Augmented Reality works to create more customizable knee replacements for his patients at Multi-Care Orthopedics Northwest / Yakima Memorial.
Calling the head-wear his “Top Gun fighter pilot glasses”, Dr. Kennedy demonstrates how the AR glasses fit on his head, how the AR trackers can map a patient’s unique anatomy, and what he sees through the glasses on an accompanying tablet.
“Tracker A, in surgery, would be attached to the patient’s femur, or thigh bone,” he explains. “This allows me to identify and create a 3D model of the patient’s femur. Once I’m done, I move to the next step, where I can make specific cuts to the femur based on the femur I’ve identified with these data points.”
This technology comes at no additional cost to patients during surgery, and has the potential to give each patient the surgery they uniquely need. This is especially helpful for patients whose knees have gotten used to performing a specific way — for example, bow-legged — maybe due to injury, compensation for pain, or simply body structure. With a more customized approach to surgery, patients have less post-operative pain, and enjoy their new knee implants more.
Watch the entire feature below, starting at 31:32, and read Goodell’s article here.