Accelerometer-based portable navigation, a faster guide compared to computer-assisted navigation in bilateral total knee arthroplasty—a randomized controlled study

• Published in: Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2023-03, Vol.31 (3), p.786-792
• Main Authors: Swamy, Arun M, Malhotra, Rajesh, Digge, Vijaykumar, Manhas, Vikrant, gautam, Deepak, Srivastava, Deep Narayana
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accelerometers; Alignment; Arthroplasty (knee); Blood; Complications; Joint replacement surgery; Knee; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Orthopaedic implants; Orthopedics; Patients; Portability; Sports Medicine
• ISSN: 0942-2056; 1433-7347
• DOI: 10.1007/s00167-021-06842-y

Purpose There are limited studies in the literature comparing the alignment accuracy of  the large console, imageless, computer-assisted navigation (CAN) and portable, hand-held, accelerometer-based navigation (ABN) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA).  This study was aimed to compare the operative time, blood loss, radiological, clinical and functional outcomes between CAN- and ABN-guided bilateral TKA. Methods From Jan 2016 to Dec 2017, 50 patients who underwent bilateral TKA were randomized to undergo either CAN-guided or ABN-guided TKA. Tourniquet time and blood loss were recorded, and intra-op complications were noted. Post-op radiological outcomes at 2 weeks were compared between the groups. The clinical and functional outcomes using the American Knee Society Scores (KSS) and Oxford Knee Score (OKS) were recorded pre-operatively and post-operatively at 3, 6, 12 months and at the end of the study with a minimum follow-up of 48 months. Results Both groups were well-matched in terms of patient demographic parameters. The mean surgical time per knee was significantly lower in the ABN group (54.5 ± 5.6 min) compared to the CAN group (61.7 ± 13.7 min; p