Backed by AO innovation resources, Momentum Health’s app is revolutionizing AIS monitoring
Championed by the AO via its innovation funding as well as in-house expertise and AO Spine’s global network of surgeons, Momentum Health’s innovative Momentum Spine app became the first AI-enabled medical device approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices in October 2023.
The app—commercially available today in Canada and the United States—is upending conventional monitoring of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and empowering patients, their parents, and their care teams to manage the condition remotely, according to Momentum Health CEO Philippe Miller. He said Momentum Spine is starting with AIS, but with its upcoming release of dynamic imaging, the company is creating a fundamentally new imaging modality for spine care, providing surgeons with a tool to remotely monitor how patients progress as well as how they look, feel, and function on a day-to-day basis.
“Since these are pediatric and adolescent patients, the parent uses a smartphone to film three laps around the patient, and from those three circles, we’re able to create a 3D model of the patient’s body, generate predictions, measure various metrics of asymmetry, and monitor spine curvature progression,” Miller explained.
After a scan, the patient’s clinician is automatically notified and can instantly evaluate the collected data on the Momentum Spine portal.
“All this data—including predictive Cobb angle and the difference in the curvature since the patient’s last visit—automatically appears on the portal,” said Miller. “Then the clinician can say either, ‘You’re good to go until the next scan,’ or ‘You need to come in and see me.’”
By replacing repetitive x-rays—two per year for many AIS patients—radiation exposure is substantially reduced, and by detecting early curve progression, the app can help patients avoid major surgery.
“Peace of mind is one of the patient benefits we often hear about. The patients tell us, ‘With the current standard of care, I have an x-ray, and then I go home and have to wait six months, with no idea whether my curvature is changing or progressing,’” he said, adding that in November 2024, Momentum Spine users will have the option of app integration with their scoliosis braces to help track compliance, and new features to collect activity levels and gait abnormalities passively will be introduced.
Also coming in November are Momentum Spine’s new functional, dynamic health assessments for dynamic sagittal alignment (ie, gait) and the cone of balance (ie, radius of sway) for adult spine patients.
Globally renowned spine surgeon Lawrence Lenke, a longtime AO Spine member and the first-ever chairperson of the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Deformity, called the Momentum Spine app “a game changer” and particularly welcomes its dynamic imaging features.
“Throughout my 33-year career, all of my operative decisions have been based on static imaging: x-rays, magnetic resonance images (MRIs), and computed tomography (CT) scans,” he said. “Dynamic imaging is one of the missing links of spine care evaluation leading to better treatments and outcomes. I think it's going to revolutionize what we do.”
The app—commercially available today in Canada and the United States—is upending conventional monitoring of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and empowering patients, their parents, and their care teams to manage the condition remotely, according to Momentum Health CEO Philippe Miller. He said Momentum Spine is starting with AIS, but with its upcoming release of dynamic imaging, the company is creating a fundamentally new imaging modality for spine care, providing surgeons with a tool to remotely monitor how patients progress as well as how they look, feel, and function on a day-to-day basis.
“Since these are pediatric and adolescent patients, the parent uses a smartphone to film three laps around the patient, and from those three circles, we’re able to create a 3D model of the patient’s body, generate predictions, measure various metrics of asymmetry, and monitor spine curvature progression,” Miller explained.
After a scan, the patient’s clinician is automatically notified and can instantly evaluate the collected data on the Momentum Spine portal.
“All this data—including predictive Cobb angle and the difference in the curvature since the patient’s last visit—automatically appears on the portal,” said Miller. “Then the clinician can say either, ‘You’re good to go until the next scan,’ or ‘You need to come in and see me.’”
By replacing repetitive x-rays—two per year for many AIS patients—radiation exposure is substantially reduced, and by detecting early curve progression, the app can help patients avoid major surgery.
‘Peace of mind’
To date, feedback from patients, their parents, and clinicians has been positive, according to Miller.“Peace of mind is one of the patient benefits we often hear about. The patients tell us, ‘With the current standard of care, I have an x-ray, and then I go home and have to wait six months, with no idea whether my curvature is changing or progressing,’” he said, adding that in November 2024, Momentum Spine users will have the option of app integration with their scoliosis braces to help track compliance, and new features to collect activity levels and gait abnormalities passively will be introduced.
Also coming in November are Momentum Spine’s new functional, dynamic health assessments for dynamic sagittal alignment (ie, gait) and the cone of balance (ie, radius of sway) for adult spine patients.
Globally renowned spine surgeon Lawrence Lenke, a longtime AO Spine member and the first-ever chairperson of the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Deformity, called the Momentum Spine app “a game changer” and particularly welcomes its dynamic imaging features.
“Throughout my 33-year career, all of my operative decisions have been based on static imaging: x-rays, magnetic resonance images (MRIs), and computed tomography (CT) scans,” he said. “Dynamic imaging is one of the missing links of spine care evaluation leading to better treatments and outcomes. I think it's going to revolutionize what we do.”
Looking to the future
Miller said Momentum Health’s technology has potential applications beyond spine care, including hip, knee, and other areas of orthopedics. For now, though, the team is focusing its efforts on the app’s use in AIS monitoring, twelve clinical studies underway in Canada, France, Switzerland, and the United States, and exploring the possibility of applying for a CE mark which would provide the European market with access to the Momentum Spine app. He emphasized that the accuracy and quality of the app’s Cobb angle prediction continue to improve as more data is collected in the ongoing clinical studies. The data collected to date indicates that the app’s prediction of patients’ Cobb angles is highly comparable to conventional x-rays.