Now, advanced computer-assisted surgical monitoring with the Stryker Knee Navigation System also promises to help enhance the longevity of knee replacements. To better appreciate this technological advance in orthopaedic surgery, let us first consider the critical role of proper mechanical alignment in total knee replacement.
Precise Alignment Critical to TKR
As with any moving part, alignment is key to smooth movement and long-term wear, just as wheel alignment affects the life of automobile tires. This is also the case with knee replacement. For years, surgeons have used X-rays, specialized instrumentation, operative technique, and experience to ensure a tight fit and proper alignment of the knee implant to the hip joint. And these have served them…and their patients…well.
It is now understood that to obtain the best possible outcomes in TKR, accuracy to within 1 to 2 degrees and 1 to 2 millimeters is extremely important.1 The Stryker Knee Navigation System was designed to assist the surgeon in achieving this degree of precision… routinely and consistently.
 Kinematic data points are translated into real-time images.
Larger image |
Science Made Simple
While the medical and computer science behind the Knee Navigation System is extremely complex, the system's instrumentation and functions are relatively easy for the surgeon to use. Minimally invasive wireless "pointers" and "trackers" send data pertaining to knee movement (kinematics) to the Knee Navigation System computer. These data are translated into real-time images that provide the surgeon with a comprehensive understanding of the knee mechanics… before any bone is cut. Armed with this information, the surgeon can make pre- and intra-operative adjustments to within a fraction of a degree, helping to ensure the best possible fit and placement of the knee prosthesis. Once the implant is in place, the System can also provide post-operative outcomes assessment data.