BOSTON -- A Burlington company is helping people get back on their feet faster with a new take on an old procedure.

They've created a customized knee implant for people who only need a partial knee replacement.

Ann-Marie Humes loves the outdoors but the arthritis in her knees made almost every step painful.

As a busy and active woman, she wanted to avoid a long recovery. She wanted to get back to work and to her gardening as soon as possible.

"By the time I got to the doctor, it was bone on bone, you know," she said.

Humes visited Dr. Richard Renaud, an orthopedic surgeon in Taunton. He suggested a partial knee replacement that would be custom fit for her knee.

Humes had X-rays and underwent a CAT scan. A computer then generated a design for an implant that would be manufactured to fit her body.

"It is an amazing process, where in the operating room, you just scrape away the diseased cartilage, the stuff that already has arthritis, and make one little cut in the back," Renaud said.

The recovery is faster than a total knee replacement. There is less bone loss and less blood loss.

Renaud said it is a better option for younger people who suffer from osteoarthritis in one or two parts of their knee.

"We have to have a bridge from, 'I have pain in my knee and arthritis, but I am too young for a total knee [replacement]," said Renaud. "And this is an option."

Within three to six months, Humes said she was gardening and working, but this time, without pain.

Customized partial replacement procedures in the past were very expensive, but this system, in some cases, is less than replacements that come right off the shelf.

The procedure is often covered by insurance.