Digital health startup Nutrimedy Inc is partnering with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in a clinical trial to assess a mobile weight-loss app aimed at helping patients become eligible for total joint arthroscopy (TJA).
Dr Antonia Chen is the principal investigator of this study, which will assess the impact of a 12-week remote dietitian-supervised dietary and physical activity change for weight loss intervention for patients prior to undergoing TJA of the hip or knee.
This study is important because it may help patients become eligible for TJA, which typically requires a body mass index (BMI) under 40 kg/m2 for surgery in an effort to optimize outcomes, a media release from Nutrimedy Inc explains.
“The months prior to total joint replacement surgery may be an opportunity for patients to initiate behavior changes that will simultaneously ready them for surgery and improve their overall health status. This will be the first study to assess pre-operative weight loss in patients anticipating orthopaedic surgery using a registered dietitian and mobile app intervention.”
— Mike Seward, a fourth-year student at Harvard Medical School, who conceptualized the study
Losing weight before TJA is associated with fewer discharges to rehabilitation facilities and shorter lengths of stay. Identifying how to promote weight loss before TJA may help patients become eligible for TJA and experience better outcomes after surgery.
Patients that qualify for the study and are randomized to the Nutrimedy intervention group will have access to the web platform and/or app to connect with a dietitian through video sessions, secure messaging and AI-enabled meal tracking. The dietitian will remotely guide the patient using Nutrimedy’s digital tools that provide insight to the patient’s eating habits and physical activity, the release continues.
“For patients managing chronic joint pain, receiving TJA has a profound impact on quality of life and mobility. Without meeting the BMI cutoff, many patients are unable to receive this life changing surgery. We are excited to support patients in their overall nutrition needs not only to help them qualify for surgery, but to improve their surgical outcomes by optimizing their nutrition status.”
— Nutrimedy’s Chief Clinical Officer, Mallory Franklin
“As a digital tele-therapeutics startup that is focused on the next generation of evidence-based clinical nutrition, we see first hand how important it is to create scalable remote models of care. Nutrimedy is specifically designed for healthcare settings and is already being utilized in areas such as IBD, short bowel syndrome, oncology and end-stage renal disease, but this will be our first opportunity to provide Nutrimedy to patients prior to undergoing total joint arthroplasty.”
— Karolina Starczak, CEO of Nutrimedy
[Source(s): Nutrimedy Inc, PRWeb]
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