Staying Ahead of the Curve: The Case for Recovery Curves in Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

Background: Sensor technology embedded within the total knee arthroplasty (TKA) implant has the potential to record data that can track recovery and provide diagnostic information. In this study, we introduce the concept of physical function recovery curve analytics, which are created from daily spatial-temporal gait metrics and step counts from a large cohort of TKA patients.

Methods: In our study population, 258 patients underwent a primary TKA with a smart implanted tibial extension between October 4, 2021, and July 15, 2022, by 33 surgeons. The average age was 63 years, with 138 (54%) women. All kinematic data were collected on a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant cloud data management platform.

Results: Summaries of the gait parameters at 6 weeks are suggestive of differences between people over and under 65 years, with the older patients walking more slowly and having shorter stride lengths. The 6-week percentiles demonstrated a strong linear correlation to the 12-week percentiles for each gait parameter, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.87 to 0.92.

Conclusions: A novel screening gait test at 6 weeks shows promising results for predicting patients who will likely have poor recovery based on at least one gait parameter recovery curve at 12 weeks with high sensitivity and specificity. A future study is needed to validate the screening tool with an independent set of patients.

Keywords: clinical outcomes; recovery curves; smart orthopaedic implants; smart prosthesis; total knee arthroplasty.