CorinConnect: The Future of Orthopedics – Part I

Corin Group (Corin), an international orthopedic instruments and implant company based in the UK, has unveiled its visionary and updated CorinConnect™ software platform, an integrated system that provides actionable insights from their interconnected suite of orthopedic technologies.

The key to the CorinConnect platform is an embedded intelligence which integrates insights gained throughout the joint replacement experience from preoperative patient assessment and surgical planning, through the operative execution, and finally overall patient outcomes. This data is collected into a centralized registry, where providers can access it and tease out novel insights regarding “inputs” which translate into patient “outputs.”

What goes in, must come out.

The CorinConnect platform consists of a patient profiling component (CorinRPM™), a preoperating planning element (OPSInsight™), a vision intraoperative delivery component (OMNI vision), a postoperative analysis system (OPSReView™) and an actional insight element (CorinRegistry™).

But, wait, there is still more. CorinConnect ALSO integrates with the recently acquired OMNIBotics® robotic-assisted knee replacement system that allows for imageless total knee replacement surgery. This system compliments Corin’s Optimized Positioning System (OPS™) technology for total hip reconstruction, as both deliver dynamic assessment of patient kinematics and precision implant planning and placement.

In this special two-part feature, OTW takes a look at the evolution of the CorinConnect platform and, in Part 2, OTW peers into the crystal ball to see what the future holds for intelligent, highly interconnected, data centric systems like CorinConnect.

(L to R): Jim Pierrepont, Andrew Shimmin, M.B.B.S., F.A.Orth.A., and Elani Hamman

To find out more about this platform, OTW interviewed members of the Corin team including Chief Innovation Officer Jim Pierrepont, Global Marketing Communications Manager Dan Cipolletti, and Software Manager Elani Hamman. OTW also spoke with hip and knee surgeon Andrew Shimmin, M.B.B.S., F.A.Orth.A., from Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Shimmin has been a key contributor in the technology development and has been involved in the first cases and applications of these programs.

The CorinConnect Vision

Pierrepont, a biomedical engineer, began his career in orthopedics at Stryker Orthopaedics as an Australian territory manager, focusing on navigation systems. In 2010, he left Stryker and, with a couple colleagues, began working on new technologies for hip and knee replacements. Pierrepont explained, “When we left, we had that focus on technology as I think a lot of companies have done.” This small team went on to create a new company, Optimized Orthopedics, which developed a new method to analyze hip biomechanics, leading to the creation of the Optimized Positioning System (OPS™).

Dr. Shimmin acted as a link between Corin and Optimized Ortho. Dr. Shimmin had been working with Corin developing implants and was also part of the Optimized Ortho team.

In 2014, Corin acquired Optimized Ortho and the OPS technology for hip reconstruction, which complemented Corin’s current offering of clinically proven hip implants. This is when Pierrepont first met Corin’s Chief Executive Officer Stefano Alfonsi. They began to look into complementary technologies around remote patient management and the potential to connect the information gained.

Pierrepont said, “It became pretty evident at that point that all these different technologies were clearly generating significant insights independently. But more importantly the power of that information if it’s all brought together was amplified 10-fold.”

The CorinConnect concept evolved from a meeting the initial team had in Sydney, Australia. The team met on Sydney harbor, a strange setting since there was not yet an office to go to. Realizing the advancements of their digital technologies needed a centralized ecosystem by which to connect, the concept of CorinConnect was born. The team began to work towards a connected system, pulling resources from every department.

Remembering all the work and effort, Pierrepont recalls that “the key people throughout have been clearly our software team, our software lead, our R&D lead, our marketing, our regulatory as well. It’s been a huge regulatory effort.”

Pierrepont continued, “Initially it was somewhat Australian focused because that’s where the OPS technology was from. Since the acquisition of US-based OMNI, and their robotic-assisted knee technology, OMNIBotics… they’ve brought a significant amount of technology enhancements as well, so then the team has really evolved into a true global company.”

The Future of Orthopedics Is Connectivity

Everything is connected, your cell phone connects to your computer, your car, even your home. Orthopedic manufacturers currently have the technology, but much of it exists in isolation. That’s going to change.

At the 2019 American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) conference in Dallas, Texas, a number of the big names in orthopedics released promotional videos of “digital ecosystem” concepts. This release did not come as a surprise to Pierrepont who told OTW, “Companies that aren’t doing this are going to get left behind.”

A connected platform is a reality for Corin. Pierrepont emphasized, “CorinConnect is live. The surgeon can log on and utilize it. The other companies are talking about a vision of connected systems, connected technology, but right now it’s still conceptual. There is nothing that exists for the surgeon to go and do that. It’s a vision they are talking about.”

Dr. Shimmin shared Pierrepont’s opinion, “None of the big industry players…they’re nowhere near it.”

Sequencing CorinConnect

Pierrepont explained the sequence with which the team built CorinConnect, “The one that came first was the preoperative planning, that was the OPS hip platform. That was my background. That’s where it started in Australia. We then soon after developed a technology for the postoperative analysis, OPSReView. During the development stages, we were actively looking into adding more technologies that contribute to the orthopedic experience.”

He continued, “We started working on the more elements, incorporating a new patient management platform, CorinRPM, which pre-operatively profiles the patient so we can get an understanding of the factors that led to the surgery. And the same application is then used to collect key post-operative surveys to quantify patient outcomes. The next step was to compile all this data we’re collecting into a system that supports analysis. We’ve been working on that for several years.”

One key piece to this platform was unlocked when Corin acquired OMNI. Pierrepont said, “Finally the huge missing piece for us, which is now the premier piece, is the robotics. The intraoperative piece. With the OMNI acquisition, that was when we were able to fill the bucket in the middle, which is the intraoperative execution of the surgery with all the information that comes intraoperatively.”

At the core of CorinConnect lies the CorinRegistry. This is where all the information from the technologies flow. It holds the clinical information for trend analysis and review. Pierrepont explained, “The registry is the key to processing all this data we’re collecting. The registry is our cloud-based database which holds all of this rich information, ready to be presented back to the surgeon.”

Elani Hamman, a software manager for Corin, joined in 2018. Her team has been working on connecting Corin’s different medical device technologies across the board.

Hamman’s team has been excited about the development, “By integrating OPSInsight, the interactive planning element of OPS, into CorinConnect, that was the first implementation of connectivity. So that was really exciting for us to be able to see the information flow into our CorinRegistry and look at the actionable data coming through.”

Data Is the Foundation for the Future

Hamman is looking forward to the future capabilities of the CorinRegistry. Hamman said, “CorinRegistry is my favorite feature of CorinConnect, having that data and all the insights available in a single platform…in real time.”

Hamman continued, “The CorinRegistry is really that data warehouse. It’s the combination of all our clinical data that we’ve been able to capture from the connected technologies. Looking at what we’re building now, we’re almost setting up the foundation pieces of having the data model and well-defined data. [T]his is going to be hugely important for us moving forward as we look at data analytics and metrics…machine learning…[and] transfer learning.”

From a meeting on the Sydney harbor to offices around the globe, Corin is moving into the future.

Hamman said, “We’re really moving from a manufacturing company to a technology-based company. It’s really exciting to be a part of.”