It’s been an exciting and productive week for the Steer Health team at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) in San Francisco! Sridhar Yerramreddy, Shen Wang, Jack O’Loughlin, and Victor Vasquez enjoyed learning about innovations being launched while also creating new strategies and developing additional relationships.
AAOS 2024 brought in over 15,000 domestic and international orthopaedic surgeons, as well as other healthcare professionals. From basic research to trauma, our team was excited to learn more about different focus areas during our five-day adventure.
We’d like to share our experience of the show and highlights with you here.
Day 1
We were delighted to welcome so many key customers, friends, and partners to our booth; seeing everyone together learning, networking, and connecting was truly incredible.
Our team dove into a diverse range of cutting-edge educational opportunities in the Exhibit Hall, which spanned more than 200,000 square feet and featured the latest technologies and devices in orthopaedics from more than 600 companies.
Interactive presentations from Athena Health and GE Healthcare got us talking about opportunities for new ways to transform our AI technology and revenue platform.
We also attended a Trauma poster session: “If You Rest, You Rust – Wearable Tracked Activity after Musculoskeletal Injury can Predict Incapacity for Work.” Wearables are all the rage these days, and it’s easy to see why. Orthopeadic surgeons introduced a novel machine learning model capable of predicting patients at increased risk for prolonged incapacity from work based on their pre/post injury activity measured with wearable devices.
Day 2
Day 2 brought new insights into the technology world at a presentation called “Dangers of Artificial Intelligence: Rise of the Machines.” Candidates for AI integration include organizations that sift through large amounts of input data, such as healthcare facilities.
Jobs that involve routine tasks or data analysis, such as hospital staff, may find benefit in digital patient documentation. While this may lead to increased efficiency and productivity in the short term, it could also have significant long-term consequences if not properly integrated into systems.
Day 3
On Wednesday, we enjoyed happy hour in the hall and attended a lunch and learn presentation about implant innovations in the shoulder continuum of care. Faculty discussed cases and innovative products in the shoulder, including InSpace, Pyrocarbon humeral implant, and Iconix HA+ – the first HA and bioglass-coated suture anchor.
There was also groundbreaking Innovation in musculoskeletal healthcare. AAOS named CytexOrtho the winner of the inaugural OrthoPitch Technology Competition!
We enjoyed seeing CytexOrtho present their novel implant designed to naturally restore joints instead of artificially replacing them. The implant offers an innovative solution for the millions of active patients with early hip disease who are too young for a total hip replacement.
Day 4
On the last day of AAOS, two of our team members made an appearance at a presentation called Crisis Averted: Opioid Sparing Orthopaedic Surgery. We learned that, unfortunately, elective surgery has become an inadvertent gateway into the opioid crisis.
Prescription opioids not only put the patient at risk for addiction and dependency, but they also provide a source for the spread and misuse of opioids in the patient’s community.
The Steer team returned energized and inspired after attending informative presentations and connecting with customers, partners, and colleagues from around the world.
We’d love to hear what your key takeaways were from AAOS 2024!
