The iLink can be attached to any brace, orthotic or prosthetic to measure wearing compliance, upright posture time and mobility on a daily basis through a free smartphone app

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Braces are advised to be worn for 14 or more hours per day (Credit: Pixabay)

Intellirod Spine, a US-based wireless implantable microelectronic spinal rod strain sensor provider, has announced the launch of iLink, a Bluetooth-enabled sensor module designed to provide objective data on wearing compliance.

Usually surgeons prescribe spinal braces and pediatric scoliosis braces for trauma, post spine surgery or back pain, which should be worn for 14 or more hours per day for positive results.

OhioHealth neurosurgeon Chris Karas said: “For the post-spine surgery patient, getting them up and moving is so important to their successful outcomes and in avoiding complications. That’s why we asked Intellirod to also detect upright posture time and mobility, so we have actionable data for improving outcomes.”

iLink can be attached to any brace, orthotic or prosthetic

Intellirod has designed iLink to be attached to any brace, orthotic or prosthetic to measure wearing compliance, upright posture time and mobility daily through a free smartphone application.

In addition, iLink transmits the hourly data to the cloud once in a day, facilitating remote access by physicians through a secure web portal.

The new solution features a dashboard that easily identifies non-compliant patients and enables patient feedback, avoiding the need for a visit.

Norton Leatherman Spine Centre spine surgeon Randy Puno said: “Parents can load the app on their phone and track their child’s wearing time daily. We normally see these patients every three to six months and we lose that treatment time if our patient is non-compliant.”

A research on scoliosis braces showed significantly greater success rate of avoiding surgery in patients who worn 14 or more hours per day than those worn 12 hours or less.

Intellirod said that it has signed an IP license with Tariq Rahman, the principal research scientist at the Nemours Foundation/Alfred I, DuPont Hospital for Children, and Richard Bowen, the Orthopedic Surgeon and former department chair of Pediatric Orthopaedics, who are working with Intellirod to validate and commercialise this technology.

Intellirod CEO Ric Navarro said: “We’re taking today’s orthotics and turning them into tomorrow’s ‘smart’ orthotics, enabling the patients, orthotists and clinicians to take charge of the data and information provided by iLink to improve outcomes. And with new remote patient monitoring CPT codes for 2019, the payers are finally incentivizing this more cost-efficient means of patient care.”