In 1997 the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) www.cartilage.org formed a committee with the objective of developing appropriate instruments to assess the efficacy, safety and outcome of the various cartilage repair techniques. The following was developed as part of this initiative.
- IKDC (International Knee Documentation Committee Score)
- CRAS - Cartilage repair assessment score. An intra-operative scoring system to grade the macroscopic appearance of chondral grafting procedures.
- Lesion mapping - a grid system for labeling the anatomic locations of chondral lesions of the knee.
- ICRS Classification codes for OCD and chondral lesions.
Socrates was created in 2006 as a collaboration between Ortholink Pty Ltd and the ICRS to computerize the specifications developed by the ICRS to assess the outcome of cartilage repair procedures. Since cartilage repair and regeneration procedures are rarely done in isolation from other procedures the scope of the project was extended to include all procedures which might be carried out in conjunction with, or might affect the outcome of the surgery. Most of the focus initially was on the knee, where the majority of chondral repair procedures are performed.
Version 2 in mid 2007 added some enhancements such as drawing screens and additional fields. Version 3 launched early 2009 added the Hip and Knee Arthroplasty and the Hip Arthroscopy modules. A Shoulder module was added in December 09. In 2011 the Elbow & Wrist, Foot & Ankle, and Spine modules were added. The Spine module is still under development but has all the major spine outcome scores included.
The name SOCRATES is an acronym for Standardised Orthopaedic Cartilage Repair and Treatment Evaluation Software and was devised by Mr Stephan Seiler, executive director of the ICRS. With the addition of the new modules which extended into non cartilage indications we've made a slight change to reflect this - its now Standardised Orthopaedic Clinical Research and Treatment Evaluation Software.
There are currently Socrates users in 18 countries.