SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING PATIENT FOLLOW-UP SUBSEQUENT TO AN ORTHOPAEDIC PROCEDURE
First Claim
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1. A system for monitoring a patient'"'"'s use of an orthopaedic joint which includes first and second joint prosthesis components, comprising:
- an implantable sensor which, when implanted in a patient, can be used to monitor the number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic joint,a processor in communication with the sensor, anda memory device electrically coupled to the processor, the memory device having stored therein a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to (i) monitor output from the sensor to determine the number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic joint, and (ii) to generate a message to the patient indicative of a need to initiate communication with an orthopaedic care provider if the number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic joint exceeds a predetermine threshold value,wherein the implantable sensor comprises a permanent magnet embedded in the first joint prosthesis component and a Hall effect switch embedded in the second joint prosthesis component, the system further comprising electronics associated with the permanent magnet and the Hall effect switch that are adapted to determine the number of occasions in which the first and second joint prosthesis component are in a predetermined position relative to one another.
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Abstract
A method of determining patient follow-up subsequent to an orthopaedic procedure includes determining the number of cycles of use of an orthopaedic joint of the patient. If a predetermined threshold is exceeded, communication with an orthopaedic care provider is initiated. A patient monitoring system is also disclosed.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring a patient'"'"'s use of an orthopaedic joint which includes first and second joint prosthesis components, comprising:
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an implantable sensor which, when implanted in a patient, can be used to monitor the number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic joint, a processor in communication with the sensor, and a memory device electrically coupled to the processor, the memory device having stored therein a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to (i) monitor output from the sensor to determine the number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic joint, and (ii) to generate a message to the patient indicative of a need to initiate communication with an orthopaedic care provider if the number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic joint exceeds a predetermine threshold value, wherein the implantable sensor comprises a permanent magnet embedded in the first joint prosthesis component and a Hall effect switch embedded in the second joint prosthesis component, the system further comprising electronics associated with the permanent magnet and the Hall effect switch that are adapted to determine the number of occasions in which the first and second joint prosthesis component are in a predetermined position relative to one another. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for determining patient follow-up subsequent to an orthopaedic procedure, the system comprising:
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an orthopaedic prosthesis comprising; a femoral component having a signal source embedded therein; a tibial component having an electrical circuit embedded therein, the electrical circuit comprising a sensor to generate a data signal in response to the signal source, the electrical circuit configured to (i) determine the number of occasions in which the femoral component and the tibial component are in a predetermined position relative to one another as a function of the data signal, (ii) calculate a cycle count indicative of a cumulative number of cycles of use of the orthopaedic prosthesis, and (iii) transmit the cycle count; and a computing device configured to receive the data signal and generate a message indicating a need to initiate communication with an orthopaedic care provider in response to the cycle count exceeding a reference threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification