STTR Phase I: Development of a Novel Surgical Navigation System for Total Knee Replacement

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase I project is the significant improvement in orthopedic care associated with (1) the broad expansion of patient access to improved procedures through significant cost reduction; and (2) better outcomes through patient-specific surgical interventions. Existing advanced technology for surgical navigation has failed to address the clinical needs and financial realities for healthcare providers, resulting in a low adoption rate, despite demand from orthopedic surgeons, hospitals, and patients for advanced technology solutions. Less than 15% of joint replacement surgeries performed in the United States today utilize advanced technology, despite superior clinical outcomes, presenting a significant commercial opportunity to address an unmet market need that will reach $5 billion globally by 2026. The proposed technology radically reduces the cost of an advanced surgical navigation system and improves outcomes. This Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) Phase I project focuses on developing leading-edge, low-cost surgical navigation to help orthopedic surgeons achieve precise, personalized implant fit and placement for all joint replacement patients. Existing navigation and robotic systems for joint replacement have high upfront and recurring costs. They add time and complexity to the surgical procedure and require additional and larger incisions to accommodate invasive pins used to affix trackers to the patient's bones. The proposed system utilizes advanced 3D scanning to map patient anatomy and proprietary radar tracking technology to help surgeons fit and place implants ideally for each patient. This phase I project aims to achieve the following technical objectives: (1) validation of high resolution radar tracking accuracy, (2) implementation of 3D scanning to register patient imaging data to their anatomy, and (3) validation of a surgical planning system to personalize the procedure to each patient using an anatomic computational model of the joint and relevant soft tissues. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.