An Indian surgeon used an iPod to perform joint replacement surgery, a world first, with DASH, a new technology that helped the surgeon perform the procedure with greater precision.
Orthopaedic surgeon Arun Mullaji performed joint replacement surgery at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on Wednesday morning using an iPod Touch, the first such commercial, non-experimental orthopaedic surgery. An innovative piece of technology from orthopaedic implant company Smith & Nephew, Inc. known as DASH Smart Instrument System, which is compatible with the iPod, enables the device to connect wirelessly to a camera that emits an infrared beam. The iPod, in turn, is attached to miniature instruments. The surgeon positions these instruments by reading the data on the iPod’s high-resolution screen to accurately cut the bone to place the new components into the joint. The surgeon can thus determine the exact alignment of the limb and the new joint on the screen of the iPod.
“Accuracy in positioning the new joint is what decides how well the patient will walk post-surgery, how much the knee bends, and even how long it lasts,” said Dr Mullaji.