Surface sensor technology provides useful information about the status of an individual's health and been available for many years, but has not been widely adopted by orthopaedic surgeons. However, its usage may be become more prominent as COVID-19 has created a shift towards telemedicine. This study reports the use of a joint specific surface sensor to remotely monitor the recovery of patients who underwent knee replacement surgery prior to the enforced stay-at-home social distancing necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study group consisted of 29 patients who underwent primary, unilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). A knee joint specific surface sensor (TracPatch™) was placed following surgery and kept on patients for 3 weeks postoperatively. The patients’ range of motion (ROM), exercise compliance, distance walked, pain, skin temperature, and incision appearance were monitored and transmitted electronically to health care providers. Patients were grouped by gender, age and BMI for analysis of functional outcome measurements.Introduction
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