Smartwatch Tracks Pelvis During Hip Replacement Surgery in First Clinical

A consumer smartwatch has been used as a pelvic tracking device during total hip replacement surgery in what researchers describe as the first clinical application of a wearable for this purpose. In a preliminary study of 30 hips in 27 patients, a smartwatch fixed to the pelvis communicated with a smartphone-based augmented reality navigation system, enabling surgeons to monitor the orientation of the acetabular cup in real time without keeping a pelvic reference marker continuously in the camera’s view. Navigation was completed successfully in all 30 hips with no need to switch to a backup method. The system paired an Apple Watch Series 10 with an iPhone 16e and used orientation data from the watch’s gyroscope and accelerometer sent via Bluetooth.