Case Study: Richard King

I am an orthopaedic surgeon, based on the 5th floor at University Hospital. I also spend a fair amount of my time at Rugby St Cross.

As the Trust's lead for innovation, I am passionate that all of us seek to do things better. My motto in life is "there's always a way". No matter what challenges we face at work, there's always a way to solve them (well, almost always....)

Instead of feeling discouraged and disheartened by difficulties, we can start to think differently. Ask yourself the question, "what would happen if we tried this instead....?"

Innovation Experience

Rapid recovery
Reducing length of stay is a major challenge for the NHS. I am part of a multidisciplinary team in orthopaedics seeking to do this for hip and knee replacement patients.

iPads
We are going paperless in the NHS. To do this properly, devices such as the iPad will be central to patient care. I have worked with ICT on integrating iPads into our clinical systems. We now have full CRRS and PACS access at the bedside.

KingMark
I have invented and commercialised a new kind of X-ray measurement marker for hip replacement surgery. This was only possible with the support of our fantastic radiographers. It is now on sale around the world. You'd think I might be able to retire now.... fat chance!

Custom-made hip replacement guides
A good hip replacement requires that it is implanted in the perfect orientation within the patient. In most places around the world, this process requires significant guesswork. I have developed a technique whereby a custom-made surgical guide is produced for each patient based on their CT scan (again, thanks to radiology for their support). This will increase the chances that hip replacements in the future are done perfectly.

Wrist splint
Broken wrists are common, and many require surgery. But if we could come up with a better type of splint that holds them more reliably while they heal, surgery may be avoided