Navbit, an emerging Australian medtech company, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd to bring its smart sensor technology to Australian orthopaedic surgeons. Navbit Sprint is a guidance technology designed to enable the orthopaedic surgeon to deliver accurate acetabular cup alignment in hip replacement.
With a simple, disposable product format, this intra-operative alignment technology promises to overcome many of the commercial and usage barriers that may be associated with alternative technologies. Navbit Sprint is practical for the majority of surgical settings. Supported by five years of meticulous research and development, this disposable cup alignment technology has been granted regulatory clearance in Australia, Europe and the United States.
Navbit Sprint, the first technology to be commercially released by Navbit, is now available to Australian surgeons under an exclusive sales agency agreement with Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd. The technology will be brought to Australian surgeons by DePuy Synthes, the orthopaedic business unit of Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd.
Lynette Walter, CEO of Navbit says, “The agreement allows this new technology to quickly find its way into the hands of Australian orthopaedic surgeons, with the full support of DePuy Synthes’ highly trained surgical representatives; we are delighted to be working with them.”
Navbit Sprint also makes its debut in the United States this week, with surgeons scheduled to use the technology in Chicago, Atlanta and New York. Navbit Sprint has significant potential to be adopted by surgeons in ambulatory surgical centres (ASCs), which are fast becoming the preferred surgical setting for hip replacement procedures in the United States. “We know ASCs have an appetite for fast convenient precision technologies and Navbit Sprint is ideal for this setting. This commercial pilot will allow us to determine the right strategy for product rollout in 2022” Lynette said. Navbit is not presently aligned with any orthopaedic companies in the United States.
Surgical precision to benefit patients
An estimated 2 million people worldwide undergo hip replacement each year [1], with osteoarthritis the major reason patients need this procedure [2]. Hip replacement is a successful operation, however, post-operative dislocation is the most common reason for revision surgery in the first five years, with dislocation impacting between 2% and 5% of patients who undergo the procedure [3].
Multiple studies show the association between poor acetabular cup alignment and dislocation. Technology has a key role to play in addressing the issue [4] [5] [6] [7] [8].
“When it comes to aligning the implant, technology is better than the surgeon’s eye at achieving the desired alignment. Intra-operative patient movement, limited visibility and other factors, make it very difficult for the surgeon to get the right alignment with their good judgment alone,” says Professor Bill Walter, orthopaedic surgeon and inventor of the device.
Ameneh Sadeghpour, Chief Innovation Officer at Navbit adds, “Patients today have high expectations for perfection and lower tolerance for complications than they perhaps did ten or twenty years ago. Surgeons want innovative technologies to support better patient outcomes.”
The technology uses microelectromechanical sensors (MEMS), the kind of electronic components used in smartphones. Daniel Marsden Jones, Navbit’s lead engineer, says, “The Navbit Sprint system includes automatic and continuous calibration processes to maintain measurement accuracies within 3 degrees with at least 95% confidence during use.”
Navbit Sprint supports the major surgical approaches, including the direct anterior surgical approach, the posterior surgical approach, and the anterolateral approach. Compact and lightweight, Navbit Sprint offers surgeons simple, accurate, disposable navigation in-a-box and a practical solution for hospitals and day-surgery centres.
Navbit’s CEO, Lynette Walter says, “It’s designed for everyday use, in everyday surgical environments and aims to appeal to busy surgeons wherever they are. The technology offers surgeons an intuitive technology solution, creating a user experience that is more like what we have come to expect from our smartphones than typical surgical tech”.
When using Navbit Sprint, always read the Instructions for Use.
Navbit is only available for sale to Health Professionals.
Navbit Sprint is included in the ARTG, reference #338854.
About Navbit
Navbit Pty Ltd is an Australian company, established in 2016, with a focus on bringing deep domain expertise and insight to medical product innovation. Comprised of a team of local world class researchers, engineers, quality and regulatory experts with strong ties to Australian surgeons and the Parvizi Surgical Innovation group in the United States, Navbit is well positioned to bring smart innovative technologies to global markets.
External References:
- Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Displacement Registry. (2021, 06, 28). Reported Hip Procedures, AOANJRR, https://aoanjrr.sahmri.com/hips
- John Hopkins Medicine. (2021, 06, 28). Hip Replacement Surgery, John Hopkins Medicine, https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/hip-replacement-surgery
- Dargel, J., Opperman, J., Bruggermann, G., Eysel, P. (2014), Dislocation following Total Hip Replacement, Dtsch Arztebl Int, vol 111, pp 884 – 890,
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2014.0884 - Callanan, M., Jarrett, B., Bragdon, C., Zurakowski, D., Rubash, H., Freiberg, A., Malchau, H. (2010). The John Charnley Award: Risk Factors for Cup Malpositioning, Clinical Orthopaedics & Related Research, (469), Article 1487, DOI: 10.1007/s11999-010-1487-1
- Novikov, D., Mercuri, J., Long, W., Bosco-Lii, J., Vigdorchik, J. (2019). Can some early revision total hip arthroplasties be avoided?, The Bone & Joint Journal, vol 101-B, pp 97-103,
DOI:10.1302/0301-620X.101B6.BJJ-2018-1448.R1 - Scheerlink, T. (2014). Cup Positioning in Total Hip Arthroplasty, Acto Orthopaedica Belgica, vol 80, pp 336-347,
- Soderquist, M., Scully, r., Unger, A. 2017. Acetabular Placement Accuracy With the Direct Anterior Approach Freehand Technique, The Journal of Arthroplasty, vol 32, pp 2748-2754, DOI: 10.1016/j.arth.2017.04.011
- Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Displacement Registry. (2021, 06, 28). Australiian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry 20th Annual Report 2019, AOANJRR, https://aoanjrr.sahmri.com/annual-reports-2019