UHealth Co-Sponsors Collaborative HSS Orthopaedic Symposium
Orthopaedics is about optimizing the interconnecting parts of the musculoskeletal system, orthopaedic conferences are about strengthening connections among leaders, researchers and clinicians while sharing the latest innovations across the specialty.
The 8th Annual Winter Technology & Innovation in Orthopedics Symposium in Fort Lauderdale was no exception.
“The idea is we work together to develop an innovative program,” said Francis Hornicek, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair in the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “That is how we are going to advance orthopaedic surgery and the subspecialties.”
More than 300 attendees gathered for the two-day conference to share insights and learn more about arthroplasty, knee, hip and shoulder surgery, optimizing treatment of the spine and the latest advances in sports medicine.
Opportunity for Orthopaedic Collaboration
The University of Miami co-sponsored the event with the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Florida in West Palm Beach, Cleveland Clinic Florida (CCF) in Weston and Holy Cross Orthopedic Institute.
“It’s nice to see everybody, because we are trying to integrate or develop relationships with some of these other programs, like the Hospital for Special Surgery Florida,” said Dr. Hornicek said, also chair and chief of service for UHealth—University of Miami Orthopaedics.
“HSS is proud to collaborate with UM Orthopaedics to continue educating around the advancements in care and innovation in the musculoskeletal sector,” said Martin W. Roche, M.D., director of arthroplasty at HSS Florida. “The emergence of robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality/virtual reality and smart implants in providing the latest technology for our patients was exhibited at our innovation meeting. The meeting blended students, engineers, physicians, nurses, therapists and health care CEOs into an integrated event to learn from each other and to improve our ability to care for our patients.”
Artificial Intelligence in Orthopaedics
Special sessions at the conference included preoperative imaging using artificial intelligence (AI), the roles of virtual reality and augmented reality and the evolution of robotics and data for hip and knee surgeons. Conference sessions also explored early treatment of arthritis, management of challenging cases, outpatient joint procedures and new technologies in diagnosis and treatment.
The symposium offered sessions aimed at specific orthopaedic subspecialties, as well:
- Sports medicine specialists learned about computational modeling and planning, new surgical techniques and the roles of big data and AI.
- Shoulder experts discussed rotator cuff augmentation, acromioclavicular (AC) joint separations and the management of disaster cases (disasteroplasty).
- Spine specialists explored 3D printing to individualize implants, the role of biologics in spine surgery and AI’s and augmented reality’s roles in their subspecialty.
Reflecting the breath of orthopaedics, a dinner symposium highlighted the top five technology innovations in shoulder, spine, joint, sports, trauma and infection and oncology orthopaedic work.
Translational Orthopedics Collaborations
In addition to drawing more health care providers, the symposium is attracting more interest from companies that can work with researchers and clinicians to advance patient care.
“The idea is for engineering and other departments to work together on translational projects that are interesting to industry,” Dr. Hornicek said, “including some of the larger companies in the orthopaedics field.”
A more robust Miller School and UHealth Orthopaedics affiliation with HSS Florida could boost clinical practices and growth in Southern Florida.
“It’s nice to not only be working on that, but also on education and research with them,” Dr. Hornicek said. “This is part of an overall program bringing us closer with HSS.”
As UHealth builds a new clinical site at SoLé Mia in North Miami, provider recruiting collaborations with HSS will optimize patient care and extend the clinical reach of both institutions.
“We’re trying to grow as our population grows right here in Florida,” Dr. Hornicek said. “And to do it we need a program that’s the best.”
Tags: Department of Orthopaedics, Dr. Francis Hornicek, Orthopaedic surgery