GAINESVILLE, Fla.– Exactech, a developer and producer of innovative implants, instrumentation and smart technologies for joint replacement surgery, announced today that eight studies featuring new scientific and clinical research were presented at the 2022 Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) annual meeting, on Feb. 4-8 in Tampa, Fla.
Three studies, each of which used machine learning to predict outcomes after shoulder arthroplasty, were nominated for awards. One study1, Using Machine Learning To Predict Internal Rotation After Anatomic And Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty, won first place for the top orthopaedic implant research podium/paper presentation at the 2022 annual meeting and has also been published recently in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery2.
Data from this research came from a multinational patient outcomes database drawn from more than a decade of active clinical collection efforts, which provides the engineering/development and clinical research teams, along with worldwide clinical collaborators, robust information to assess the performance of Exactech products. The machine learning analysis of this data was completed through a partnership with KenSci, Inc.
The two other machine learning-based shoulder studies3,4 nominated for ORS awards analyzed the fairness and bias of the algorithms within the Predict+® clinical decision support tool and also provided a validation of the algorithms for the Shoulder Arthroplasty Smart Score. Combined, this research demonstrates that the algorithms used in Predict+ treat all legally protected classes of patients with equivalent accuracy when predicting shoulder arthroplasty outcomes. Other presented research established new thresholds for patient satisfaction-based improvement after shoulder arthroplasty5 and demonstrated positive clinical and radiographic outcomes using the Equinoxe® Preserve humeral stem6. A final shoulder study was conducted in collaboration with Western University (London, Ontario) and analyzed the effect of Preserve humeral stem size selection on boney fixation7.
Two additional studies featured Newton™ Knee, the company’s new approach to soft tissue balancing. In the first, research8 demonstrated the highly reliable and easy-to-use benefits of the intra-articular technology, which provides surgeons with a patient-specific surgical plan and verification of the joint balance during guided total knee arthroplasty. The second study9 provided in-vitro verification of Newton’s quasi-constant forces that could allow for optimal knee soft tissue balancing.
“These powerful studies highlight the clinically meaningful focus of our investments in technologies to augment surgeon decision making,” said Darin Johnson, Exactech CEO. “Our Active Intelligence efforts are helping surgeons predict how shoulder patients will function using proprietary data and algorithms, and our Newton Knee provides surgeons with quantifiable measurements of joint gaps through the entire knee range of motion. These studies show Exactech is committed to providing improved decision-making solutions for surgeons, ultimately helping provide better outcomes for their patients. It is rewarding for our teams to see ORS celebrate the quality of our work with a first-place award.”
