Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire, founder of Rochester’s Michigan Knee Institute, has performed thousands of knee surgeries in his lifetime. Until now, however, he would only see patients for their post-operative meeting and not again until their one-year follow-up.
Dr. Jeffrey DeClaire, founder of Rochester’s Michigan Knee Institute, has performed thousands of knee surgeries in his lifetime. Until now, however, he would only see patients for their post-operative meeting and not again until their one-year follow-up.
DeClaire is one of a few physicians in the country to participate in a national study of the mymobility app from Zimmer Biomet for smartwatches, which tracks and aids a patient’s progress after surgery. The app monitors a patient’s activity level, prompts daily recovery exercises and progress notes, and automatically reports the progress via text to the care team.
“The watch uses AI to collect the patient’s activity data and shares it with the app on the patient’s smartphone,” DeClaire says. “The app messaging feature allows patients to send photos, ask questions, and provide updates to my team and me, with such timely communication ensuring the absolute best care possible.”
Presently, 250 of DeClaire’s patients are enrolled in the program. Some of the data that will be coming back to DeClaire and his team to monitor include step count, gait speed, stand hours, flights of stairs climbed, and heart rate — all critical to a successful recovery.