Smart Impactor
Revolutionizing the standard of surgical care
OrthoIQ’s Smart Impactor combines powered impaction with smart sensing, helping inform surgeons when a hip implant is properly seated.
In total hip replacements today,
Surgeons determine implant seating through subjective feel and auditory cues
When surgeons insert an implant into a patient's bone, they drive it into place through a series of hammer strikes. They stop once the feel of each strike and the sound it makes tell them the implant is fully seated. These cues depend heavily on experience and offer no objective measure of when the implant is truly secure.
Aseptic Loosening
Under-seated implants may fail to achieve stable fixation and can loosen over time.
Secure, stable implant
The implant is fixed firmly into the bone which provides long term stability.
Fracture
Over-impaction can fracture the bone surrounding the implant.
When hip replacements fail, patients face painful, costly revision surgery.
$294M
in annual U.S. hospital charges for hip revisions due to instability, projected to reach $533M by 2035
45.5%
of hip revisions are caused by instability, periprosthetic fracture, or aseptic loosening
7x
higher rate of deep infection in patients undergoing revision surgery compared to primary hip replacement surgery
Surgeons need more than just feel. They need feedback.
With IQ Impact,
Surgeons know exactly when the implant is fully seated, and the moment a fracture occurs.
IQ Impact is designed to give surgeons clear, ongoing feedback as they impact the implant. A sensor housed within the autoimpactor sends an update every few seconds, signaling to continue while the implant is still seating and to stop once it's fully seated. If a fracture occurs during impaction, IQ Impact alerts the surgeon immediately so they can stop and help limit further damage. The feedback is meant to complement a surgeon's experience, not replace it, adding objective data to the cues they already rely on so each decision is better informed.
IQ Impact has
Three core capabilities, built into one autoimpactor.
Powered Impaction
Controlled, repeatable strikes in place of a manual mallet
Fracture Detection
Alerts the surgeon when a fracture in the patient’s bone is detected
Seating Detection
Alerts the surgeon when the implant is fully seated
Competitiveness with current, on-market autoimpactors
IQ Impact vs. DePuy Synthes
Lighter
half the weight
Smaller
better manuverability
Lower Cost
$30k vs. $55k
Faster Delivery
vs. 25 week lead times
IQ Impact is
Currently in bench testing and early validation
Concept and design
COMPLETE
Prototype
COMPLETE
Bench testing
IN PROGRESS
Sensing validation
IN PROGRESS
Design freeze
EXPECTED 2027
Validation (V&V) & FDA approval
EXPECTED 2028
Commerical launch
EXPECTED 2029
IQ Impact is in development and not available for sale.
Meet the Team
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Audrey Chen
Chief Executive Officer
Audrey leads operations, with an MIT mechanical engineering background and experience managing complex, regulated product development at organizations like NASA and Formlabs.
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Dr. Phillip Merritt
Founder and Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Merritt is the Medical Director of the Orthopedic Institute at Adventist Health Glendale and surgeon of 45 years. His practice focus is adult reconstruction and he has performed more the 10,000 hip and knee replacements. -
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Alan Davidner
Founder and Advisor
Alan is a serial medtech founder and inventor with four successful startups and over a dozen commercialized medical devices, holding 67 issued patents across orthopedic and surgical technologies.
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Paul Nichols
Advisor
Paul is a seasoned orthopedic medtech executive and repeat founder with 40+ years of experience building and leading orthopedic implant companies.
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Dr. Michael Nogler
Medical Advisor
Dr. Nogler is Professor of Experimental Orthopedics, Univ. of Innsbruck, Austria. He is known world-wide as an innovator in surgical technique and technology in the field of adult reconstructive surgery.
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Dr. C. Brian Blackwood
Medical Advisor
Dr. Blackwood is a fellowship trained, nationally renowned robotic-assisted total joint surgeon.
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Jose-Luis Moctezuma de la Barrera
Dr. José-Luis Moctezuma is a medical technology innovator with 30+ years of experience in surgical robotics and navigation. A former Stryker VP, he holds 77 patents in surgical robotics, navigation, and medical imaging.
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Don Rea
Scientific Advisor
Don is the Director of Engineering at Magellan GPS and co-developed the first commercial GPS receiver.
Contact Us
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