KNEE replacement surgery could become more accurate and less painful, thanks to the use of movement sensors being pioneered in the UK by a surgeon at Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Treatment Centre in Runcorn became the first hospital in the country during the summer to introduce the pioneering technology which helps surgeons align new knee joints more accurately. 

The German manufacturers of iASSIST approached Warrington Hospital surgeon Dr Nikhil Pradhan after he had previously pioneered other bee's knees techniques over the past 10 years. 

The news caused quite a stir after hitting national headlines earlier this year and led to calls from across the country from patients requesting to be part of the clinical trial. 

Dr Pradhan added: "It's great for the hospital and the local population for them to decide to come to us rather than London or other cities in the UK. 

"It's a team effort and we have brilliant staff and nurses here and no stress in the system. 

"This treatment centre is an ideal location as operations can often be cancelled at Warrington due to a lack of beds whereas the Runcorn centre works as a stand alone unit."

The Warrington Guardian went to watch Dr Pradhan at work during what was a 12-hour day for the consultant orthopaedic surgeon completing hip and knee replacements. 

The hour-long procedure sees the worn out knee cartilage replaced with an artificial joint and a medical plastic shock absorber. 

Previously 10 to 15 per cent of patients would experience discomfort from the alignment not being correct between the hip and ankle but with iASSIST that percentage is down to five per cent thanks to four little blue cubes that send messages to an iPad and bleep when the alignment is correct.

The technology removes the need to insert rods and drill down the thigh bone which means the patient avoids losing blood and bone marrow and bubbles of fat and air being pushed into the bloodstream.

Sixty patients are currently involved in the blind trial, with a random selection of 30 having their knee replacement with iAssist, but none of the patients or their physiotherapists will find out until the trial is completed next year. 

Dr Pradhan added: ""We're about half way through but I won't be reviewing any x-rays until the end. 

"Even if we decided it's beneficial, we will have to decide whether it's worth spending money on something which has a long-term advantage and put together a business case. 

"There are 80,000 knee replacements in the UK every year so 10 to 15 per cent of these is a large number. 

"We pioneered five years ago reducing the amount of time patients wear a tourniquet during the procedure as they would complain in post-op they were in agony so 10 to 15 per cent improvements can make a big difference during the procedure and in recovery."