WiFi gyroscope used in knee replacement op at Hadassah

Surgeons at the Hadassah Medical Center have performed four successful knee replacements using Zimmer iASSIST –a personalised guidance system involving a gyroscope and WiFi technology.
Prof. Iri Liebergall, Chair of Hadassah’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery, was a member of the medical team that developed the new technology for Zimmer, a world leader in technologies and tools for orthopedic surgery.
As in airplanes, the gyroscope enables surgeons to situate the bone at the proper plane and gives them the precise angle for making an incision in the bone. The WiFi component provides communication between the tool on the patient's knee bone and the operating room computer. Together, the gyroscope and the WiFi give surgeons maximum accuracy, which results in less blood loss for the patient and reduces the need for a larger array of equipment.
To date, Prof. Liebergall, Dr. Yoav Mattan, Director of Hadassah’s Joint Replacement Unit, and their colleagues Dr. Gurion Rivkin and Dr. Leonid Kandel, have performed successful knee replacements using the new procedure. In 2004, Prof. Liebergall and Dr. Mattan performed the world’s first computer-assisted hip replacement, using Zimmer technology.
The International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopedic Surgery has designated Hadassah’s Department of Orthopedic Surgery as a Center of Excellence for its accomplishments and its innovative use of new technologies and surgical tools.
For nearly 100 years, Hadassah (www.hadassah-med.com ) has been a leader in medicine and nursing in Israel, laying the foundation and setting the standards for the country's modern health care system. The majority of medical breakthroughs in Israel have taken place there. With more than 130 departments and clinics, Hadassah-Ein Kerem provides Israel's most advanced diagnostic and therapeutic services for the local and national population and a significant number of international patients.
iMER (www.imer.biz ) is the international patients office of the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem. iMER, with offices in Cyprus, Austria, Israel, Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, in cooperation with Hadassah, offers patients assessment services, the preparation of a medical plan and referral to the appropriate Hadassah units.