The world of orthopedic surgery is filled with cutting edge technology. Here are three that those in the orthopedic space are watching.
Artificial intelligence
Healthcare is no stranger to AI. But as the technology becomes more advanced, more doors for its usage begin to open. For orthopedics, the use of AI could mean better patient care.
"The biggest trend in orthopedics right now is the arms race that is artificial intelligence," Brian Grawe, MD, orthopedic surgeon at the University of Cincinnati, told Becker's. "This arms race includes better, more efficient delivery of patient care, as well as decreasing the cost burden of medical care. I believe that harnessing the power of AI will allow surgeons to better meet the expectations of their patients, more effectively communicate about the point of care options, and ultimately maximize the work flow of getting patients in the door and out the door. We are at the tip of the iceberg and the ceiling is high."
ChatGPT
ChatGPT launched in November 2022 and has made quite the impact on healthcare throughout 2023. It can be used for anything from helping guide patient care to medical research.
"In the field of orthopedics and healthcare, [ChaptGPT] has also been shown to have potential benefits, especially in medical research and patient care," Alex Vaccaro, MD, PhD, a spine surgeon and president of Rothman Orthopaedic Institute in Philadelphia, told Becker's. "In academic research, ChatGPT can serve as a useful tool for researchers to increase research efficiency as well as improve their writing. As ChatGPT is trained on a database up to the year of 2022, it is able to summarize scientific information up to that point in time. By entering any scientific prompt, researchers can quickly assess an overview of the subject and better understand the pre-existing literature. ChatGPT is also able to analyze a written work and correct grammatical mistakes, check citations, as well as offer stylistic improvements. However, when using ChatGPT to generate text, care must be taken to ensure accuracy of the text as well as avoiding plagiarism."
Mixed reality
Mixed reality also has major potential in the world of orthopedics. With this technology, surgeons can test a procedure before they actually perform the case.
"Many big things will impact orthopedics, like 3D printing, robotics, and of course, the advancements in AI," Tony Yi, chief technology information officer at MedVanta, told Becker's. "What you haven't heard too much about is mixed reality and its ability to help medical providers and surgeons deliver the best treatment possible. Mixed reality is an integration of the real world, digital, and the augmented representations of things. Before a surgery, imagine a medical team being able to plan and test a procedure by creating 3D models of bones and joints for a very complicated case. This enriched experience, insight and level of detail offered in multiple scenarios will drive higher surgical success."