AAOS 2023 Buzz Report
The action packed AAOS 2023 was an incredible turn out with 600+ exhibitors and over 39,000 members. The ortho industry suffered a major revenue loss during the pandemic, and we’re excited to see that the market has gradually recovered, officially surpassing the pre-covid level globally and expected to reach nearly $50 Billion this year. Trends at the show contributed to that success including innovations in wireless technologies, AI integrations, surgical robotics and less invasive technologies for joint and spine procedures.
AAOS 2023 was all about education with a focus on improving patient outcomes and the tissue regeneration space had a huge presence this year. Sanara MedTech is making a prominent impact with their innovative suite of surgical products by providing wound care solutions to combat both surgical wound dehiscence and other common complications and infection. Organogenesis showed us first hand how their product Puraply MZ, which contains purified, micronized native collagen, is enabling access to difficult wound locations while maximizing contact, conformity and coverage.
Who else stood out at the show? We honed in on four major themes – disruptive technology, trending software, new innovation and AI/AR – and highlighted the most impactful companies below.
Disruptive Technology
Lazurite is jumpstarting the wireless era of surgical visualization with their Arthro Free System, the world’s first wireless camera for arthroscopy and general surgery. This technology is compatible with current standard surgical towers, making them completely wireless with battery packs that last over an hour, allowing physicians to gain freedom of movement in the OR, while eliminating the fires, patient burns, and infections associated with fiber-optic cables.
All eyes were on Smith+Nephew’s Regenten Bioinductive Implant, which supports the body’s natural healing response to facilitate new tendon-like tissue growth and changes the course of rotator cuff tear progression. The implant then absorbs within 6 months of implantation. Another Sports Medicine winner, Ultrabutton, produces a controlled technique to reproduce and harvest only the desired tendon tissues. This adjustable fixation device lowers risk of anterior knee pain compared to autograph options.
CarboFix is truly improving quality of life in patients with the benefits of carbon fiber vs. metallic implants. Their implants have superior strength similar to the cortical bone. Their composite material makes the implants radiolucent, and it enables MRI & CT scans with minimal to no artifacts for better soft tissue visualization. In oncology cases, CarboFix implants also allow enhanced and precise radiology delivery with less complications.
Trending Software
The largest and fastest growing healthcare technology partner for deriving actionable insights from patient outcomes data, PatientIQ showed us how to streamline clinical workflows and improve patient outcomes. In addition to outcomes collection and analysis, the platform facilitates collaboration, bringing together data-driven clinicians from across the country to accelerate research and push medicine forward.
An often neglected area, musculoskeletal oncology surgeons and their patients are at the forefront of Onkos Surgical. Their My3D® Personalized Solutions is a game-changing platform of patient-specific solutions for complex long-bone and pelvis reconstruction, which helps to spare the native knee or to help restore hip function.
New Innovation
A big announcement at AAOS 2023 from 3D Systems introducing VSP® Connect, a centralized, cloud-based surgical planning portal that integrates automated workflows and artificial intelligence (AI). As the latest addition to the company’s VSP surgical planning solutions, VSP Connect empowers device manufacturers and surgeons with real-time patient case visualization and improved collaboration capabilities.
New enhancements to ZBEdge Dynamic Intelligence were unveiled at AAOS 2023 including:
- mymobility: a digital care management platform that delivers support and guidance to patients and captures continuous data and patient-reported feedback to facilitate care, outcomes and satisfaction about patients’ surgical preparation and recovery.
- Persona IQ: the world’s first and only smart knee implant that allows physicians and care teams to collect patient-specific kinematic data including functional knee range of motion, qualified step count, distance traveled, cadence, stride length and sampled average walking speed accessible, remotely through the mymobility platform
- ROSA Knee: a robotically-assisted surgical system that leverages real-time insights to help surgeons optimize outcomes when performing total knee replacement surgery.
Recently launched joint preservation solutions were the star of the Anika Therapeutics booth including the X-Twist Fixation System, Tactoset Injectable Bone Substitute and the clinically proven OVOMotion with Inlay Glenoid TSA System, the only system that offers a true inlay glenoid. A limited market release of RevoMotion Reverse Shoulder System is proving to be a next generation reverse shoulder system, with Anika’s President and CEO citing “surgeons are excited about the bone conservation and overall surgical flexibility they get with RevoMotion.”
Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality
Gaining FDA clearance, HOLO Portal became the world’s first surgical guidance system to incorporate artificial intelligence (“AI”) and augmented reality (“AR”). The first procedure was performed at Indiana Spine Hospital in Carmel, Indiana and since, over 30 cases have been performed. The HOLO Portal system’s AI processes intraoperative images to autonomously segment and label the anatomy and plan patient-specific pedicle screw trajectories that are approved by the surgeon. The system uses AR to overlay the segmented AI reconstruction over the patient’s actual anatomy, providing real-time 3D visualization throughout the surgical procedure, helping surgeons visualize trajectories, while guiding surgical instruments.
Ospitek is revolutionizing surgical coordination offering an IoT and AI enabled software platform that supports the workflow efficiency and communication of healthcare organizations. As the shift in surgeries to outpatient settings accelerates, Ospitek empowers surgeons and care teams with real-time, fully automated, surgical coordination and communication tools. Their software enables surgeons and ASCs to meet the growing demand for outpatient surgery, while supporting the delivery of engaged, high-quality care.
With Medacta, the surgeon is never alone. The MyKA Kinematic Alignment Platform provides surgeons with the most comprehensive solution to safely and reproducibly perform Kinematic Alignment. It includes GMK Sphere knee implant, dedicated instrumentation developed to perform a personalized, reproducible surgical technique based on measured bone resections, tailored education programs, and MyKnee® KA 3D preoperative planning and 3D printed patient-matched guides optimized for Kinematic Alignment. Additionally, the first ever platform to offer augmented reality solutions for joint replacement and spine procedures, NextAR Augmented Reality Surgical Platform, leverages patient-specific, unique real-time data to complement operative workflow efficiently.
