Hip surgery systems and methods

1. A method for performing hip arthroplasty, comprising:

attaching a first orthopedic system to a bone of the patient, the first orthopedic system comprising a reference post and a probe;

sliding a portable surgical orientation device and the probe relative to the reference post until the probe contacts an anatomical landmark;

measuring at least one of orientation or position of the portable surgical orientation device when the probe contacts the anatomical landmark;

measuring an orientation of an anatomical plane on the patient's hip using a second orthopedic system and the portable surgical orientation device;

orienting an implant relative to the anatomical plane using the second orthopedic system; and

measuring changes in at least one of leg length and joint offset using the portable surgical orientation device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the portable surgical orientation device comprises at least one inertial sensor for sensing changes in orientation or position of the portable surgical orientation device.

3. A method for performing hip arthroplasty, comprising:

providing a first orthopedic system comprising a reference post and a probe;

coupling a portable surgical orientation device to the probe;

attaching the reference post to a bone of the patient;

sliding the portable surgical orientation device and the probe relative to the reference post until the probe contacts an anatomical landmark;

measuring a first reference distance from the reference post to the anatomical landmark using the portable surgical orientation device;

coupling the portable surgical orientation device to a second orthopedic system;

orienting an implant and inserting the implant into the acetabulum using the second orthopedic system and the portable surgical orientation device;

coupling the portable surgical orientation device to the probe after inserting the implant; and

measuring a second reference distance from the reference post to the anatomical landmark using the portable surgical orientation device after inserting the implant.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising orienting the hip using orientation or position data from the portable surgical orientation device prior to measuring the first reference distance.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein measuring the first reference distance comprises marking the anatomical landmark using a marker device.

6. The method of claim 3 , further comprising measuring an orientation of an anatomical plane using the portable surgical orientation device by contacting at least three locations.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the at least three locations are in relation to the acetabular rim, and the anatomical plane is a plane of the acetabular rim.

8. The method of claim 3 , wherein the implant is an acetabular cup, and orienting the implant comprises attaching the acetabular cup to the second orthopedic system and using the portable surgical orientation device to identify an orientation of the acetabular cup.

9. The method of claim 3 , wherein the portable surgical orientation device comprises at least one inertial sensor for sensing changes in orientation or position of the portable surgical orientation device.

10. The method of claim 3 , further comprising measuring changes in at least one of leg length and joint offset using the portable surgical orientation device.

11. A method for performing hip arthroplasty, comprising:

providing a first orthopedic system comprising a reference post and a probe;

coupling a portable surgical orientation device to the probe;

attaching the reference post to a bone of the patient;

sliding the portable surgical orientation device and the probe relative to the reference post until the probe contacts at least one anatomical landmark;

measuring at least one of orientation and position of the portable surgical orientation device when the probe is contacting the at least one anatomical landmark;

coupling the portable surgical orientation device with an instrument for placement of an acetabular cup;

placing the acetabular cup at a selected orientation device relative to the acetabulum using the instrument and information from the portable surgical orientation device; and

measuring at least one of orientation and position of the portable surgical orientation device when the probe is contacting the at least one anatomical landmark after the placing step.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising measuring an orientation of an anatomical plane using the portable surgical orientation device by contacting at least three locations.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising measuring changes in at least one of leg length and joint offset using the portable surgical orientation device.

14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising orienting the hip using orientation or position data from the portable surgical orientation device prior to measuring at least one of orientation and position of the portable surgical orientation device.

15. The method of claim 11 , wherein attaching the reference post comprises driving the reference post into the iliac spine on the patient's hip.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein contacting the at least one anatomical landmark comprises marking the at least one anatomical landmark locations using a marker device.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the at least one anatomical landmark comprises at least one of the lesser trochanter and the greater trochanter.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising contacting the acetabular rim to identify a plane of the acetabular rim using the portable surgical orientation device.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising using the portable surgical orientation device to identify an orientation of the acetabular cup relative to the plane.

20. The method of claim 11 , wherein the portable surgical orientation device comprises at least one inertial sensor for sensing changes in orientation or position changes of the portable surgical orientation device.