Zimmer Biomet and Apple launch major clinical study for 10,000 hip and knee replacement patients

“Zimmer Biomet, a world leader in developing the components and systems for joint replacements, says that it is working with Apple on a new clinical study focused on people who get knee and hip replacements,” Ingrid Lunden reports for TechCrunch. “The trial will come in three stages, and within two years, Zimmer Biomet projects that there to be up to 10,000 people involved, Ted Spooner, Zimmer Biomet’s vice president of connected health, said in an interview. It will cover three aspects of patient care, he said: monitoring patients before and after operations using sensors on the Apple Watch and iPhone; providing education and information to patients to help improve their pre- and post-operation care; and providing a communications channel between doctors, caregivers and patients to ask questions, give answer and more, using Zimmer Biomet’s mymobility app.”
“‘We believe one of the best ways to empower consumers is by giving them the ability to use their health and activity information to improve their own care’ said Jeff Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Apple, in a statement. ‘We are proud to enable knee and hip replacement patients to use their own data and share it with their doctors seamlessly, so that they can participate in their care and recovery in a way not previously possible through traditional in-person visits. This solution will connect consumers with their doctors continuously, before and after surgery,'” Lunden reports.
Lunden reports, “Hip and knee replacements are the most common ‘replacement’ procedures that take place, accounting for one million operations each year in the US, according to Deloitte, a figure that will grow to 3.5 million by 2035 as our population grows, stays alive for longer, and includes more people who were much more active in their earlier years in a wider upswing for fitness.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Zimmer Biomet’s press release, verbatim:
Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., a global leader in musculoskeletal healthcare, is working with Apple by using Apple Watch and iPhone to change the patient journey for two of the most common surgeries Americans undergo each year – knee and hip replacement. This collaboration has yielded Zimmer Biomet mymobility, an app that uses Apple Watch to facilitate a new level of connection between patients and their surgical care teams, which can immediately impact the journey patients experience when they undergo these procedures.
In addition to the app, Zimmer Biomet is commencing the mymobility Clinical Study, designed to study the app’s impact on patient outcomes and overall costs for joint replacement patients. During this research study, patients will use Zimmer Biomet mymobility with Apple Watch as they progress through their hip or knee replacement journey. Researchers will combine patient-reported feedback with continuous health and activity data from Apple Watch to provide new insights into the power of the Zimmer Biomet mymobility app to impact the standard of care for these common surgeries. The study is launching today and has the possibility to enroll as many as 10,000 patient participants in the United States.
“We are incredibly excited to work with Apple to transform the knee and hip replacement experience for patients and surgeons,” said Bryan Hanson, President and CEO, Zimmer Biomet. “At Zimmer Biomet, we are committed to improving care decisions through digital health and we are thrilled to launch one of the largest evidence-gathering clinical studies in orthopaedic history.”
“We believe one of the best ways to empower consumers is by giving them the ability to use their health and activity information to improve their own care,” said Jeff Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Apple. “We are proud to enable knee and hip replacement patients to use their own data and share it with their doctors seamlessly, so that they can participate in their care and recovery in a way not previously possible through traditional in-person visits. This solution will connect consumers with their doctors continuously, before and after surgery.”
More than one million knee and hip replacements occur annually in the U.S. This number is expected to grow to 3.5 million by 2035, yet standardization of care and recovery for the procedures is still lacking and costs to the U.S. healthcare system continue to rise. Zimmer Biomet mymobility and Apple Watch will act as a virtual and continuous care team on a patient’s wrist. Patients will be provided with support and guidance as they prepare for and recover from these surgeries, while surgeons will be delivered continuous data to optimize care. The new Zimmer Biomet mymobility app has several features that use both Apple Watch and iPhone through the joint replacement journey, including the ability for surgeons to send education and therapy reminders directly to the patient’s Apple Watch. The app also allows surgeons to monitor patient activity levels throughout the days and weeks while they are preparing for and recovering from surgery.
Facilities participating in the mymobility Clinical Study include:
• Academic centers: University of Utah Health; Rush University Medical Center; University of Pennsylvania Health System; Emory University Orthopaedics & Spine Hospital/Emory Healthcare
• Hospitals: Hoag Orthopedic Institute in Southern California; Newton-Wellesley Hospital, member of Partners HealthCare founded by Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Centura Health, Porter Hospital – Colorado Joint Replacement (CJR)
• Group practices/ambulatory surgery centers: ROC Orthopedics, affiliated with Legacy Meridian Park Medical Center; OrthoBethesda; OrthoArizona; Midwest Center for Joint Replacement; Hartzband Center for Hip & Knee Replacement; New Mexico Orthopaedic Associates; The DeClaire LaMacchia Orthopaedic Institute, affiliated with Michigan Institute for Advanced Surgery; Joint Implant Surgeons; Orthopedic and Fracture Clinic; Panorama Orthopedic and Spine Center
To learn more about the mymobility Clinical Study, visit zbmymobility.com/clinical-study.