iPod Touch Used By Surgeons To Perform Knee Surgery

These days it seems like for almost anything you need to do, there's an app for it. And now there's an app to help doctors perform surgery. The app is called DASH and is developed to work on an iPod touch to aid doctors through complex knee and hip replacement surgery. There's of course more equipment needed than just the iPod touch, but the device is an integral part of the system and you can actually download the educational version of the app from the App Store. Continue after the cut for a video explanation and a demo of an actual operation using the app.

Doctors at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai successfully performed three knee replacement surgeries using the new technology. The system involves slipping the iPod touch into a case that has precision measuring instruments attached to it. The surgeon then positions the iPod touch to read the data from the high-resolution screen to accurately mark spots to cut and properly align new components into the joint.

"Accuracy in positioning the new joint is what decides how well the patient walks post-surgery, how much the knee bends, and even how long it lasts," said Dr. Arun Mullaji, who demoed the new system.

There are already precision technologies that help with the complexity of knee surgery, but they are bulky and complicated to operate. The DASH software along with the use of an iPod touch makes the process more portable, intuitive, and affordable. The system was developed by Smith & Nephew along with Brainlab and already has a CE certification for Europe and is waiting for approval in the U.S. A free demo of the app is available for download called DASH Learn.

[via OnlyGizmos]