Asia's first orthopedic surgery with IPod touch performed
By siliconindia   |   Saturday, 27 August 2011, 01:57 IST
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Bangalore: The first commercial orthopedic (knee replacement) surgery in Asia with the aid of iPod Touch was performed by Arun Mullaji of Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai. The surgery was performed in collaboration with the orthopedic implant company Smith & Nephew. Gulab Singvi, 75, of Prabhadevi, Mumbai underwent a knee replacement surgery with this pioneering technique. The patient could walk the same day the surgery was conducted. The Dash Technology was developed by Smith & Nephew to assist surgeons to perform transplants easily, with more accuracy, and quickly. The DASH Smart Instrument System establishes a wireless connection between iPod touch and camera that emits infrared beam. The iPod Touch is, in turn, connected to small instruments that are positioned by the surgeon by reading the data in the iPod's high resolution screen for precisely cutting the bone and placing a new joint. All the instructions are loaded on the iPod itself for the surgeons to understand. "Proper alignment, balance and exact placements of the components are important in replacement surgeries", said Mullaji, leading surgeon, Breach Candy Hospital and Lilavathi Hospital. The next 25-30 years could see a 600 percent increase in the number of revision surgeries due to malalignment and instability, Mullaji revealed. Dash Technology promises to heighten the success rate of the primary surgery, leaving no space for revision surgeries, he added. Meanwhile, Smith and Nephew with Mullaji as a partner, plans to expand its technology to reach out to more patients, by making it more easily available to leading surgeons across the world. Frandsen, director, Global Surgical Navigation of Smith & Nephew said Smith & Nephew initially hopes to allow hospital to use this device for proving real time usability. The DASH technology is approved by CE, the European medical authorizing body. The technology will soon be available in 35 hospitals from around the world. 10 hospitals in U.K., 10 in U.S., and five in India will be equipped with its set up this year itself.

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