BoneTag – in vivo orthopedic prosthesis tracking and evaluation tool

Principles

BoneTag is a unique and universal device. Placed inside knee prostheses, BoneTag enables communication with all brands of surgical orthopedic implants by connecting them and making them smart. The BoneTag device provides traceability throughout the entire lifetime of the prosthesis, offering an unprecedented ability to evaluate in vivo au cours du temps. BoneTag solves a long-standing need for traceability, while also founding an international registry of surgical implants that is essential for improving prostheses.

Benefits

Practitioners and patients

BoneTag offers medical practitioners and patients access to the characteristics of surgical prostheses after they are implanted. No other system can do that at this time. With BoneTag, practitioners track prosthesis behavior (notably bone adhesion and temperature) over time without having to resort to further examinations, which can be both costly and invasive.

Prosthesis manufacturers

With the BoneTag, device, prosthesis manufacturers can ensure complete traceability right from the factory. BoneTag makes it easier to manage inventory, while transforming prostheses into smart implants that are equipped with the ability to evaluate performance and be queried. This helps manufacturers ensure compliance with legal traceability requirements.

Technology

BoneTag is an electronic device that uses battery-free RFID technology (Radio Frequency Identification), associated with pressure and temperature sensors.

BoneTag fulfills three key functions starting from the moment it is integrated into a knee prosthesis, during the surgical procedure:

Accurate in vivo identification of the prosthesis
Traceability over time
Early detection of infection or loss of prosthesis adhesion with the bone

This passive RFID device is encapsulated within a completely sealed biocompatible casing, about the size of a SIM card. It is integrated directly into the prosthesis and may be queried remotely after the prosthesis is implanted, over its entire lifetime (20 years).

All the practitioner has to do is scan the patient’s knee from a distance of about 10 cm to read the information transmitted by the chip to the dedicated BoneTag software. In addition to identifying the prosthesis, the practitioner can also evaluate its adhesion to the bone at any time.

All of the data is collected in real-time via the Internet to contribute automatically to a worldwide registry of knee implants.

Power: the passive RFID chip is connected to its own integrated antenna. The chip and internal temperature and pressure sensors are powered only when being accessed by the reader.

Market

2.5 million knee prostheses are implanted every year around the world, including about 100,000 in France and 800,000 in Europe. Our R&D team is currently examining the adaptation of BoneTag to other types of implantable medical devices.