Carestream Begins Clinical Study on Three-Dimensional Orthopedic Imaging System

Carestream Health Inc. and UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, both based in Buffalo, N.Y., are conducting clinical studies on a new three-dimensional medical imaging system at Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) for use in treating orthopedic conditions. These studies will help guide Carestream’s development of new cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) systems with the goal of providing orthopedic solutions for hospitals, clinics and sports medicine providers that use less radiation than traditional CT. The goal is to make the systems compact and affordable, designed for us in a wide range of facilities.

Physicians from UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine—all experts in caring for patients with musculoskeletal problems—are working with Carestream researchers to explore the benefits of using CBCT technology for capturing images of patient extremities (knees, legs, feet, arms and hands). Musculoskeletal diseases affect more than one out of every two persons in the United States age 18 and over, and nearly three out of four age 65 and over.

The hope is for this new digital CBCT technology to provide otherwise unavailable weight-bearing (i.e. the patient stands upright) images of knees, legs and feet, which are of particular interest to orthopedic and sports medicine specialists. The CBCT system used in this study is investigational and not available for commercial sale.

The two organizations plan to broaden their collaboration at a later date to study the advantages of digital imaging technology in treating other extremity conditions.

“These studies will help us evaluate the clinical and business advantages of CBCT systems and help to answer questions including: Does it improve patient outcomes? Does it improve the patient experience? Can we further develop CBCT systems to deliver the image quality suitable for assessing other conditions such as traumatic brain injuries?” said Diana L. Nole, President, Digital Medical Solutions, Carestream.

The Erie County Medical Center is an advanced regional medical center and major teaching facility of the University at Buffalo. A member of the Great Lakes Health System of Western New York, ECMC is the Adult Regional Trauma Center and operates 602 licensed beds located in Buffalo, NY.

“We think the novel capabilities of the Carestream CBCT scanner have broad application to the basic science and clinical practice of orthopaedics and sports medicine. We are launching an initial clinical study that may help surgeons more accurately and objectively diagnose the degree of instability of the patella (knee cap),” explains John Marzo, M.D., a physician with UBMD Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, associate professor of clinical orthopedics, School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo.

“A second collaborative project will validate the ability of the CBCT scanner to measure contact area inside the knee joint, which will be valuable in a host of clinical situations. We have several other projects in various stages of development to be performed over the next 2-3 years that establish a mutually beneficial relationship with Carestream Health,” Marzo added.

Carestream makes orthopedic technology for use in healthcare facilities.