Consensus Performance Standards for Hip, Knee, and Shoulder Arthroplasty Devices

Frederick W. Werner, M Eng; Warren O. Haggard, PhD; William M. Mihalko, MD, PhD; Jack E. Lemons, PhD

Orthopaedic surgeons are often barraged with offers to examine and use a variety of modified or new surgical techniques. These techniques often involve new instruments, new implants, or devices that have new materials associated with them. The selection of a specific surgical device, method, or approach is affected by a number of factors, such as the device's suitability for the procedure and whether it is sufficiently strong, compliant, and biocompatible.

In Search of a Biologic for Treating Back Pain

Sharon Johnson

Samuel K. Cho, MD, a spine surgeon and research scientist on the faculty at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, is leading an exploration of the molecular biology of notochordal cells. He is particularly interested in what chemical factors they may release or trigger that contribute to healthy disk cells.

No Test Is Too Sensitive, But Those Who Think So Are Almost Correct

S. Raymond Golish, MD, PhD, MBA

Diagnostic tests, especially laboratory tests and imaging, are at the heart of orthopaedic decision-making. Some tests are highly sensitive, generating a lot of true positive results, but also generating a lot of false positive results. For example, the use of broad-range PCR (polymerase chain reaction) testing to detect joint infection may have high sensitivity but has been critiqued for a high rate of false positives.