Scripps Health Receives NIH Grant to Develop Smart Shoulder Replacement Implant

Researchers at Scripps Health have received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop what is believed to be the world’s first smart shoulder replacement implant that can continuously and remotely monitor and transmit data on the inner workings of a patient’s new shoulder after surgery.

The $317,000 grant award will support the initial phase of research, which will be conducted over the next two years at the Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education (SCORE) at Scripps Clinic on Torrey Pines Mesa. In this early phase, researchers plan to design, produce and verify the functionality of a smart implant prototype. They also will aim to demonstrate proof of concept by testing the device in the shoulder of a human cadaver to validate the implant’s operability and consistency.

“Shoulder replacement surgery represents an important area of study,” said Darryl D’Lima, MD, PhD, director of orthopedic research at Scripps Health and the initiative’s co-lead investigator, along with Heinz Hoenecke, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and researcher at Scripps Clinic. “Studies show that the number of these procedures has grown significantly in recent years in the United States and the trend is expected to continue. We need to gather and review data to better understand ways we can improve shoulder prosthetics and rehab approaches for patients, and this grant funding is an important first step toward that goal.”

To develop the novel device, researchers plan to modify an existing shoulder implant by equipping it with an array of customized wireless technology, such as advanced sensors and capabilities for data storage, external communication and rechargeable power. 

The smart implant will serve as both a functional shoulder joint replacement, as well as a research tool that can continually record and transmit data from inside the patient’s shoulder, such as mechanical forces, temperature, range of motion and other metrics. The first surgical implantation of the smart shoulder device in a living patient is likely still a few years away.

Once the device is implanted, researchers and surgeons will analyze data that could reveal new ways to enhance physical therapy protocols for shoulder replacement patients, as well as to improve the design of future implant devices.

The initial grant funding comes from the National Institute on Aging, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. After the initial two-year period, Scripps will seek additional grant funding and develop industry partnerships for clinical studies.

In addition to the the smart shoulder implant research team at SCORE, the initiative will be conducted in collaboration with other experts. These include Scott Delp, PhD, who is the James H. Clark professor at the schools of engineering and medicine at Stanford University; Scott Banks, PhD, professor and director of the orthopaedic biomechanics laboratory at the University of Florida; and B.J. Fregly, PhD, professor at the department of mechanical engineering at Rice University and a scholar in cancer research with the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). This team has experience collaborating with Scripps on collecting, processing and analyzing data on Scripps’ smart knee implant. 

Scripps made history in 2004 when Clifford Colwell, MD, implanted the world’s first electronic knee prosthesis into a patient at Scripps Green Hospital. Researchers have used data from this smart knee prosthesis to understand how forces affect the knee joint, which in turn has led to the development of better knee implants and improved rehabilitation protocols following knee replacement surgery.

Scripps’ shoulder implant research follows efforts in Europe. Scientists in Germany previously developed an electronic shoulder implant equipped with force sensors, which was limited to collecting data within a lab while the patient was tethered to a wireless power supply.

According to Dr. D’Lima, Scripps’ smart shoulder implant will be able to monitor patients outside the lab and store data onboard. It also will offer intelligence that provides feedback to patients and enables providers to make informed decisions to improve patient care.