07/28/2025
FIRST SMART KNEE IMPLANT IN MAINE PERFORMED AT CALAIS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
‘Smart Knee’ captures and transmits knee motion data to optimize monitoring and recovery
Earlier this month Calais Community Hospital became the first hospital in Maine to offer smart knee technology for total knee replacement. The implant, Persona IQ, offers insights and data unlike ever before to surgeons and patients alike. This will help improve short and long term outcomes.
CCH Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Wendy Crawford has had extensive training to bring this next generation of knee replacements to Down East Maine. The addition of the Persona IQ smart knee option now provides the ability to send state of the art technology right out the door with the patient. The smart knee provides visibility into the post-surgical journey via the MyMobility app and keeps the patient more connected to the healthcare team every step of the way. The Persona IQ smart knee can also be used with the ROSA robotic knee system introduced at CCH last year. ROSA is used to tailor the placement of a knee implant to each patient, ensuring a precise implant fit to improve comfort and recovery. Both technologies were developed by Zimmer Biomet, a global leader in orthopedic innovation.
Dr. Crawford was introduced to the potential of Persona IQ technology during a ROSA continuing education session. She instantly thought it would be a great fit for rural medicine. The device and app are more than monitoring the progress of a patient’s knee replacement, it also provides access to education, video guided exercise routines, reminders and effortless communication with the care team at CCH. Patients and their surgeon can easily access data from Persona IQ through the specialized MyMobility app. “The smart knee provides real-time insights to the patient and myself about how recovery is going, ensuring the knee implant is functioning optimally,” explained Dr. Crawford. “It also provides access right at home to education and video exercises to maximize outcomes post-surgery, which is a tremendous benefit for my patients living in this remote area.”
The smart knee uses implantable sensor technology that provides for the measurement of range of motion, step count, walking speed, and other crucial gait metrics. The data is transmitted to the patient’s personal base station at home, very similar to how a pacemaker provides information. The data is then securely delivered to a HIPAA-compliant cloud-based platform where both the orthopedic surgeon and the patient can easily check it. The Persona IQ Smart Knee first became available in 2021 and has been used to collect over 6 billion data points for patients and their care team.
“The expansion into the latest robotic and smart technology is a testament to the hospital's commitment to providing the community with high quality, advanced, and safe care," says Steve Lail, CEO of Calais Community Hospital. "As the only hospital in Maine to utilize both the ROSA Knee System and Persona IQ Smart Knee technologies for total knee replacement, the hospital is reinforcing its dedication to delivering exceptional care to the community".
Learn more about this innovative new offering at www.calaishospital.org/knee-replacement .
