DJO Surgical teamed up with W. Andrew Hodge, M.D. and Scott Banks, Ph.D. of the Orthopedic Research Laboratory in West Palm Beach, Florida, to develop the innovative 3DKnee™. Using moving x-ray images of healthy, active, total knees, and applying military imaging technology to study the motions of knees with artificial implants, W. Andrew Hodge, MD and Dr. Banks made significant discoveries about the way healthy and implanted knees behave:
The contact axis (the point where thigh and shin bones meet and rotate) of an artificial knee is opposite that of a normal, undamaged knee.
Traditional implants were sometimes failing after only a few years because the polyethylene cartilage inserts were wearing out unevenly and prematurely.
Traditional implants typically last for 10 years on average, depending on the patient’s activity level. This left many patients (those younger than 55 years of age) facing multiple surgeries within their lifetimes. Other consequences of the traditional designs included a more limited range of motion than necessary and undue stress on the implant parts.
W. Andrew Hodge, MD and Dr. Banks determined that only a precise balance between (1) the amount of contact between the thigh bone, shin bone and cartilage insert and (2) proper constraint of the knee joint will allow a knee implant to move and slide as the human body requires.
The result of their extensive research is the 3DKnee — the first implant with the right amount of constraint and conformity. By reducing the resistance that has caused ordinary implants to deteriorate prematurely and addressing the real needs of human knee movement, the DJO Surgical 3DKnee offers an implant like none other: designed to be stronger, more stable, more durable, with higher performance and wider range of motion.
W. Andrew Hodge, M.D.
Joint Replacement Surgeon for more than 20 years; Faculty at MIT School of Mechanical Engineering; Founder and Director of the Orthopedic Research Lab, Good Samaritan Hospital, West Palm Beach Florida; served as Clinical Director of the Biomotion Laboratory at Massachusetts General and co-director of the Harvard-MIT Rehabilitation Engineering Center. Performs more than 300 joint replacements per year (more than 4000 total knee replacements in his career). W. Andrew Hodge, MD is widely published and recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities in Biomechanical Research.
Scott Banks, Ph. D.
Medical Engineer specializing in Transplant Innovation; Faculty at University of Florida, Gainesville; Technical Director of the Orthopedic Research Lab, Good Samaritan Hospital, West Palm Beach, Florida. Graduate of MIT with a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering. Founder of the world renowned Biomotion Research Institute laboratory in Palm Beach, Florida. He has pioneered the use of computer graphics to enhance human motion evaluation and aid in more effective design of joint replacements. Widely published and highly renowned, Dr. Banks lectures worldwide on the results and applications of Biomotion Research.