Breakthrough knee surgery to be presented at PAS Conference
Surgeon handling the PPS Precision Knee Aligner (PKA) during cadaver trial at NHS Golden Jubilee.
PPS and NHS Golden Jubilee presents in vivo trial of new PKA system, to improve knee replacement surgery success.
Leading orthopaedic surgeons from NHS Golden Jubilee, one of Europe’s foremost arthroplasty centres, together with tactile sensor specialist PPS, will present new research this September at the Personalized Arthroplasty Society (PAS) Conference in Rome. This research marks the first in vivo use of the PPS Precision Knee Aligner (PKA) system, an advanced technology that combines pressure sensor measurements with real-time data to help surgeons precisely balance soft tissues during knee replacement procedures.
Total knee replacement is a technically demanding joint replacement procedure, where achieving accurate soft tissue balance is essential to long-term success. For many years, soft tissue balancing in knee arthroplasty has been a subjective process, relying on manual perception, tensor devices and gap gauges that vary between practitioners, and lead to inconsistent surgical outcomes.
While robotic systems have improved implant positioning, achieving reliable balance has remained uncertain. The PKA changes this by providing real time measurements of tibiofemoral force and load distribution, allowing surgeons to understand how each surgical step, such as patella positioning, affects joint stability.
“By visualising the internal load distribution between compartments, surgeons can make more informed decisions that may reduce the high rate of postoperative dissatisfaction currently affecting up to one in five patients.”
Alistair Lawley, AI and Machine Intelligence Researcher at PPS, added: “We’ve collaborated closely with the team at NHS Golden Jubilee to co-develop this technology to help improve comfort and fit of knee implants, benefiting from their exceptional surgical expertise and research leadership to transform how knee replacements are performed and experienced in the future.”
Working in partnership with NHS Golden Jubilee, the team carried out cadaver trials to validate the capacitance sensor’s ability to accurately measure knee forces under standardised test conditions. This research highlights how PPS’s sensor technology can support greater precision in these procedures, representing a pivotal step toward the first in human trials and potential commercial adoption.
While the PKA system represents a major advance in arthroplasty, it also reflects PPS's broader mission: delivering high-fidelity sensing solutions that improve surgical precision, clinical insight, and patient outcomes across a range of medical applications.
Founded in 2020, the PAS Conference has quickly become an international forum for emerging research and next generation technologies, with its first annual meeting held in 2022. Now in its fourth year, PAS attracts global experts, including leading orthopaedic companies such as DePuy Synthes and Stryker. PAS 2025 takes place on September 15th -16th at Roma Eventi Fontana di Trevi.