A connected ecosystem

Zimmer Biomet’s smart knee implant adds to a growing digital ecosystem that the company is developing around joint replacement procedures.

Zimmer Biomet in 2018 launched MyMobility, a remote care-management app that’s part of a partnership with Apple. The app, designed to engage patients before and after joint surgery, provides a place for patients to report on their outcomes and houses information on exercises and other educational materials. Data from the smart knee implant Persona IQ will also flow into MyMobility, where patients will be able to view it.

Surgeons will also be able to compare postoperative data from a patient’s smart knee with pre-operative data captured through MyMobility.

But analysts and orthopedic surgeons noted that healthcare providers will need to consider privacy—as well as patients’ perception of privacy—when integrating any type of sensor into clinical care.

Privacy is “always a concern” when sharing data, said Dr. Alan Reznik, chief medical officer and an orthopedic surgeon at Connecticut Orthopaedics who specializes in pediatric and adult sports medicine. He’s also on the editorial board of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ magazine AAOS Now.

That concern will only intensify as data from implants is combined with other devices, such as consumer fitness trackers.

Reznik said surgeons and devicemakers will have to be able to explain to patients who will have access to their data and how that data is secured.

“We take that very, very seriously,” said Liane Teplitsky, president for global robotics and technology and data solutions at Zimmer Biomet, regarding compliance with privacy and security regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. The company signs business associate agreements with providers it works with.

While Persona IQ tracks metrics like step count, it doesn’t track information like patient location, according to Zimmer Biomet.