Warwick University signs licence for hip replacement measurement device

Licensing

Warwick University and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) have outlicensed a system that they say is the first to be able to accurately measure patients for hip replacements.

KingMark, developed by orthopaedic surgeon Richard King in collaboration with Damian Griffin, professor of trauma and orthopaedic surgery at the university’s medical school, is a non-intrusive, reliable method of calculating radiographic hip magnification. Over 55,000 hip replacement operations are undertaken each year in the UK alone, and current estimates suggest replacement hip size is correct in only around 30 per cent of cases.

The invention includes a simple kit for measurement and comprises a pad with an incorporated measurement system which is placed face down; the patient lies with their hips on the pad; a string of five linked precision balls are placed on the patients abdomen.  The anterior (ball) and posterior measurements from the radiograph are entered and calculated and an accurate value for magnification is then generated.

Griffin said KingMark has removed all of the uncertainty about scaling digital radiographs for hip replacement.  “Our radiographers find it easy to use, and I can be confident that the measurements I make on scaled radiographs are correct.  It is now unusual for my pre-operative templating not to be exactly right.”

The new system is also much less intrusive for patients than the current methods of measurement. The invention may also have potential for spinal work and trauma implants as well as other joint replacement operations and any surgery where magnification issues exist.

Now a specialist orthopaedics company, Voyant Health, has taken a license to manufacture and distribute KingMark.