Altoona, Pennsylvania (June 17, 2009) -- While choosing a high performance knee replacement is central to regaining your active life, there is a new technologically advanced surgical procedure that may extend the life of knee implants.

            VISIONAIRE Patient Match technology is a remarkable system that uses a patient’s MRI and x-ray images to design and build surgical instruments customized for his or her unique knee anatomy.

            “This technology is truly groundbreaking,” stated Dr. Kenneth L. Cherry and Dr. Christopher S. McClellan of University Orthopedics Center in State College and Altoona.  “We have more confidence in the accurate placement of the implant while our patients benefit from a simplified procedure. Because the technology delivers pre-sized and pre-aligned instruments, our time in the OR has decreased significantly. For patients, that means a potentially reduced risk of complications like infection.”

            While every person’s knee joint has subtle differences in shape and contour, traditional surgical instruments used to place knee implants are one-size-fits-all. In the past, an orthopedic surgeon would spend time during the procedure adapting to a knee’s “terrain” in order to achieve the proper placement of the implant.

            Using VISIONAIRE technology, Drs. Cherry and McClellan enter the operating room equipped with single-use instruments, engineered exclusively for that patient’s knee. 

            Not only does the VISIONAIRE system eliminate multiple steps from the surgery, thus reducing time under anesthesia, but an implant placed with this computer-guided precision has a reduced risk of the kind of misalignment that can cause it to wear out before its time.

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            For more information about VISIONAIRE Patient Match technology, contact: Dr. Kenneth L. Cherry and Christopher S. McClellan with University Orthopedics Center at 814-949-4050 or 814-231-2101.