10009179Smart impaction: developing data driven orthopaedic instrumentsClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKThe NHS performs 100,000 hip replacements annually. Demand is growing due to our ageing population and backlog caused by Covid-19\. Despite advances in precision and robot assisted surgery, the hammer remains the state-of-the-art tool to insert hip replacement implants into the bone. This has two problems. (1) The hammer's weight and how hard the surgeon swings it are uncontrolled. In the worst case this can cause fracture of the bone. In many cases this causes poorly secured implants. (2) The repetitive impaction can cause injury, and particularly may curtail the career of our most experienced surgeons. The cost of losing highly trained surgeons to injury is significant. Our project will create a battery powered impaction device that replaces the hammer. It will allow repeatable surgery, with defined, consistent impact strikes. The impact force is pre-set for each patient (depending on their bone properties) thus reducing the risk of bone fracture. The device will also be able to tell the surgeon when the implant is properly seated, and prevent further risks associated with over impaction. The powered impaction device also makes the surgery less physically demanding, which will prolong the surgeon's career. Reducing the physical strength component may also encourage a wider demographic of people to choose orthopaedic surgery as a specialism, which is traditionally male dominated. The team of Imperial College London and Additive Instruments Ltd. brings together the skills of impaction technology and orthopaedic surgery and provides a clear pathway for the technology to reach clinical use. We have a strong advisory panel of surgeons and patients who helped put the proposal together and will be involved throughout the project as it unfolds.