Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute Among the First to Offer Innovative Artificial Intelligence for Hip Replacements

Orlando, FL (December 5, 2023) – After promising a new level of orthopedic care for patients throughout Central Florida and the Southeast when its new downtown complex opened earlier this year, Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute is delivering on that promise, announcing that it is one of the first in the nation to offer artificial intelligence assistance in hip replacement procedures to optimize patient recovery and mobility following surgery.

“Here at Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, we recently were able to offer navigated hip replacement as well as confirmation of the hip with artificial intelligence- aided X-ray. This technology provides immediate feedback in the operating room about whether the surgeon hit the target, allowing us unprecedented accuracy and efficiency during surgery,” said Dr. George Haidukewych, director of orthopedic trauma, chief of complex joint replacement and academic chairman at Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute. “It’s really beautiful technology, it’s an exciting day for me.”

Some of the most common reasons for dissatisfaction with a hip replacement include getting the leg lengths wrong, and poor biomechanics resulting in reduced range of motion. These are all issues which are prevented by the simulation modeling allowing Orlando Health orthopedic surgeons to put the hip replacement in with accuracy to the degree and to the millimeter that is appropriate for the individual patient, then applying artificial intelligence to the X-rays taken in the operating room to confirm the placement. This also reduces the amount of time the patient is under anesthesia.

Dr. Haidukewych specializes in total hip and total knee replacements as well as orthopedic trauma. Patients seek out his expertise after experiencing failed and infected total hip and total knee replacements at other medical facilities, and in reconstruction of the joints after trauma.

In 2017, Dr. Haidukewych was inducted into the International Hip Society, an exclusive association of joint surgeons from all over the globe that have demonstrated excellence in hip surgery. The society is comprised of top surgeons from various countries who specialize in hip replacement surgery. Members convene multiple times throughout the year to discuss difficult cases and share best practices. New members must be voted in by current society members. He is also an award-winning researcher, published more than 100 peer reviewed studies and book chapters and has presented hundreds of educational lectures on trauma and hip and knee replacement. Dr. Haidukewych holds several patents and developed multiple innovative implants for fracture fixation and joint replacement.

Total hip and knee replacement has changed since his early career, when only manual confirmation of implant placement was available. “Today,” says Dr. Haidukewych, “we do pre-operative planning to make the hip very specific to patients’ activities, such as yoga or golf. So we use computer simulation to tell us where to put the hip. Then we use computer- aided navigation to hit our target to the degree. Now, using artificial intelligence in our X- rays, we can get millimeter-specific details on how the surgeon restored the patient’s anatomy and get their leg lengths just right. This level of precision has never been available until now,” said Dr. Haidukewych.

Patient care is the first priority at Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute. With this new technology, patients can undergo hip replacement surgery in the morning and be home before lunchtime.

About Orlando Health

Orlando Health, headquartered in Orlando, Florida, is a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization with $9.6 billion of assets under management that serves the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.

Founded more than 100 years ago, the healthcare system is recognized around the world for Central Florida’s only pediatric and adult Level I Trauma program as well as the only state- accredited Level II Adult Trauma Center in Pinellas County. It is the home of the nation’s largest neonatal intensive care unit under one roof, the only system in the southeast to offer open fetal surgery to repair the most severe forms of spina bifida, the site of an Olympic athlete training facility and operator of one of the largest and highest performing clinically integrated networks in the region. Orlando Health has pioneered life-changing medical research and its Graduate Medical Education program hosts more than 350 residents and fellows.

The 3,429-bed system includes 29 hospitals and emergency departments – 25 of which are currently operational with four coming soon. The system also includes nine specialty institutes, skilled nursing facilities, an in-patient behavioral health facility under the management of Acadia Healthcare, and more than 375 outpatient facilities that include physician clinics, imaging and laboratory services, wound care centers, home healthcare services in partnership with LHC Group, and urgent care centers in partnership with FastMed Urgent Care. More than 4,750 physicians, representing more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties have privileges across the Orlando Health system, which employs more than 27,000 team members and more than 1,500 physicians.

In FY 23, Orlando Health cared for 197,000 inpatients and 6.6 million outpatients. The healthcare system provided nearly $1.3 billion in total impact to the communities it serves in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 22, the most recent period for which this information is available.

Additional information can be found at http://www.orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @orlandohealth.