(KYW/CBS/CBS Newspath/WKRC) - A new bionic body part that talks to your phone is not science fiction, it's the next frontier in knee replacements.

It's called a "smart knee," a new technology designed to improve recovery after knee replacement surgery and take the guesswork out of monitoring how the new joint is working.

Donna Cordero has a new smart knee. It's an implant that's equipped with sensors that track her mobility.

"You can see my progress," said Cordero.

The movement information from the knee is wirelessly transmitted to a personal base station.. That sends the data to the patient's phone and the doctor's office.

Dr. Robert Booth with 3B Orthopaedics at Jefferson Health says this is the first time specific movements can be monitored and measured from inside the knee.

"I don't mean to infer that the other knees are dumb knees, it's just we don't get any info back," he said. "It infers from the length of your stride and the cadence of your stride, whether you're limping, whether you're taking big steps, whether you're getting back into your normal pattern."

Cordero is Booth's first patient to get the smart knee replacement.

"I am feeling fantastic, I really am," she said. "It was the best thing I ever did for getting rid of the pain."

Cartilage that cushions the joint had deteriorated in her previous knee.

"So when the bones rub on one another, that's what painful," said Booth.

"The pain was pretty bad," said Cordero. "It interfered with everything. It was tough and I just couldn’t live with that kind of pain anymore."

Now, everyday activities like walking and sitting are easy and painless. Cordero says tracking her mobility allowed her to adjust her physical therapy accordingly, which she says improved her recovery.

The smart knee does not have a GPS -- it doesn't track the patient's locations, it only measures knee movements.

It's equipped with a battery that lasts for 10 years.