Hip replacement method wins innovation prize
An Innovation Prize has been awarded to Professor Joachim Grifka, Dr Thomas Kalteis and Dr Tobias Renkawitz of the Orthopaedic University Hospital Regensburg for the development of a new surgical method for total hip replacement. Presented at the Innovationsforum Medizintechnik sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the award represents ?420,000 additional project funding.
Conventional techniques often do not sufficiently evaluate a patient’s individual anatomical features, such as posture or pelvic tilt. As a result, for many patients mobility and functioning of the hip replacement are sub-optimal and the endoprosthesis might be subject to increased wear and tear.
Partnered by BrainLAB, Feldkirchen, Germany, Drs Kalteis and Renkawitz, developed a computer-aided navigation system that provides precise data for the surgeon during the replacement procedure, to ensure the ideal position of the hip endoprosthesis. The navigation-guided procedure follows the ‘femur first’ principle, which practically reverses the usual method. The surgeon begins by implanting the artificial femoral head in the femur, followed by the artificial acetabular cup. During the intervention, the navigation system calculates the position for optimized mobility and functioning of the endoprosthesis, based on the patient’s individual data.
‘Modern, computer-aided surgical techniques must not be a luxury,’ said Prof Grifka, who is the Regensburg hospital’s director. ‘They improve the outcome and reduce stress for the patient and the treatment times. This project will further improve the hip endoprostheses success rate.’
20.11.2008