TracPatch Frequently Asked Questions
Technology is changing the medical industry at a rapid pace and it can seem nearly impossible to get caught up with all the new products entering the market each year, especially now that wearable devices have expanded from the fashion and fitness industries into healthcare. Consensus created the TracPatch wearable technology to empower patients to take control of their own recovery as well as to give healthcare providers the opportunity to personalize post-operative care to the individual patient. Below are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about TracPatch and the wearable device market:
- What makes a wearable?
From fashion to fitness to medicine, wearable technology is seemingly ubiquitous. Some of the most popular wearable devices today include Apple’s smartwatch, Fitbit’s fitness tracker and Fossil’s sport watch. These devices typically attach to the body around the wrist and track fitness activity while connected to the user’s smartphone. However, wearables are no longer limited to fitness and fashion. Devices like TracPatch have made it possible for patients to have an enhanced recovery and doctors to treat patients in an entirely new and more connected way.
The TracPatch two-piece wearable device adheres to the leg of a patient who just had a total knee replacement surgery. The device sends signals and data about the patient’s motion and exercise to a centralized app that then sends information to the patient’s healthcare providers. The healthcare providers are then able to make more informed care decisions, ultimately tailoring individual recovery plans to each individual patient.
- What does the TracPatch device do for Users? Doctors? Hospitals?
TracPatch is an important tool for anyone who has just undergone total knee replacement surgery. The most valuable benefit for a patient utilizing the technology is that the device holds the patient accountable for doing important exercises following the surgery. It’s no surprise that following a total knee replacement surgery one of the biggest ways to get back to normal motion is to be compliant with their prescribed rehabilitation exercises throughout the day. This can seem daunting and it can be easy to do less than what’s recommended, but with TracPatch, the patient receives reminders on their phone through the TracPatch app encouraging them to complete their exercise and track their own progress. TracPatch ultimately allows the patient to track their progress in real time, reach their goals and feel empowered throughout the recovery process.
TracPatch also has important benefits for doctors and hospitals. The technology is a tool that surgeons use to stay connected to a patient’s recovery and the device provides the healthcare market with evidence-based care, predictive analytics, and remote monitoring. Doctors can look at a patient’s recovery progress and make informed short-term and long-term care decisions as well as make custom patient goals ultimately optimizing patient outcomes. For hospitals, the device is valuable because it facilitates a new kind of communication and centralizes care data while increasing overall productivity.
- What exactly does the device monitor?
The device monitors a few key things:
- Range of Motion (ROM) in flexion and extension
- Patients and healthcare providers can view daily range of motion, goals for the week, and compare progress from previous weeks.
- Ambulation
- The app tracks the patient’s daily steps and goals assigned by the healthcare provider.
- Counting and tracking daily rehab exercises such as sitting left, heel slide, knee to chest, and sit to stand
- Every day, throughout the day, the patient is reminded to do exercises recommended by their healthcare provider who is then able to review and make changes to the recovery plan.
- Submitted wound photos
- Patient’s can take wound photos through the TracPatch app and submit them to their healthcare provider to review and make informed care decisions.
- Pain Score Level
- Patient’s can also submit pain scores for their surgeon to review.
- PROM Surveys
- Principles of Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) Surveys can also be submitted which measure outcomes from the patient’s perspective using patient reported outcome measures.
- Where does the device’s data go?
The data collection, range of motion, steps, and exercises, get passed by Bluetooth from the TracPatch devices to the patient’s smartphone and then the smartphone Wi-Fi up to the cloud. The Bluetooth connectivity allows the device to be paired with any smartphone and the HIPAA compliant TracPatch cloud allows for unlimited data collection and secure storage for personal information. The data then gets pushed back to the healthcare provider smartphone apps and web portal which lay out all individual patient data with graphs and trend lines showing daily and weekly averages.
- How does it affect treatment methods?
With TracPatch there is a huge opportunity for the technology to affect treatment methods moving forward. The technology may reduce the need for follow up visits, it may reduce physical therapy sessions and it may even reduce the need for manipulation under anesthesia (MUA). Additionally, the device provides a pre-op baseline of the patient’s range of motion and steps to see how limited their mobility truly is.
With technology changing the healthcare industry, the sky is the limit for wearable devices and we’re working hard to move joint replacement from intuitive medicine to precision medicine. It’s time to personalize post-operative care to the individual patient, and that can be done with TracPatch. For more information contact us and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
