Currently Nova Scotia’s wait time for joint replacement surgery is 3-4 times longer than the national benchmark of 6 months.
Working in the operating room we perform a high number of orthopedic surgery. Since the province is tying to decrease its wait-times the number of joint replacement s has increased. There are a couple of surgeons using technology to help with this endeavor.
Dr. Hurley, an orthopedic surgeon at Dartmouth General Hospital is the CEO of the company Conceptualiz Inc. It is an in-house medical 3 D printing company. This company provides user- friendly, time-efficient and cost-effective solutions by producing patient specific surgical planning models (http.//www.conceptualiz.com/index.html).
Studies have shown that with the use of 3D printing in orthopedics that there was a decrease in operative time and blood loss. It also helps the surgeon understand the individual’s anatomy especially for the less experienced surgeons. 3D printing can help surgeons create patient specific cutting guides when planning for a total knee replacement (Vaishya,R., et al. 2018).
Dr. Dunbar, an orthopedic surgeon in Halifax has developed a mobile app with the help of specialists, nurses, allied health care workers and hospital management. This technology was developed to decrease the number of patients having to travel a long distance for an in-person visit. The Gait Monitoring System (GMS) is designed to allow patient evaluation without travel or wait time. This app would be used for post surgical follow-up and for people that do not require surgery this app will provide a quick answer and will be able to explore other options with their family physician sooner. Dr. Dunbar envisions that patients will remain in their home and through this app have doctors and physiotherapists evaluate them. Dr. Dunbar’s team has received a 2.5-million-dollar grant from the Atlantic Innovation Fund called Movement at Capital Health (M@CH). This technology will improve access, deliver personalized care and both patients and doctors will see higher satisfaction. By commercializing this app, M@CH plans on putting the revenue’s right back in to the province’s health-care system.(https://www.yourdoctors.ca/doctors/bio/dr-michael-dunbar).
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