Biomedical engineers have designed a robotic arm to resurface the knee accurately prior to replacing it. For this purpose, first a three-dimensional image of the knee is produced, which offers a real-time view of the knee while the surgery is performed.
The affected part of the knee can be monitored with the help of a stereo camera. This enables surgeons to stay away from the healthy portion of the knee.
Artificial resistance and visual alarms assist the surgeons to identify healthy parts. The implant is placed in a precise manner following the resurfacing. It has been estimated that over 15 million US citizens suffer from osteoarthritis in their knees. Among them, around 600,000 people could be treated with a partial knee replacement. Harvey Saff, who was an avid runner, suffered from knee osteoarthritis.
A biomedical engineering team at Mako Surgical in Fort Lauderdale, supervised by Rony Abovitz, designed a knee resurfacing system that treated Saff. The robotic arm enables precise knee resurfacing, which in turn leads to quicker healing and reduced pain for patients. The robotic arm alerts surgeons from touching healthy areas using the artificial resistance feature. Abovitz stated that the surgeon’s hands feel like they are touching a real wall and experiences a blocking sensation.
Source: http://www.makosurgical.com/