MidMichigan Medical Center-Midland's Mark Goethe, MD, has completed the hospital's first robotic-assisted knee replacement with Smith+Nephew's Cori surgical system, local news radio station WSGW reports.
This handheld robot is designed to help surgeons plan and perform total and partial knee replacements.
Cori helps surgeons remove damaged cartilage and bone surfaces, balance soft tissues around the joint and more precisely position the implant.
"The result is a neutral mechanically aligned knee joint made from material designed to last longer and feel like the patient’s own knee," Dr. Goethe told WSGW.
The robot relies on reflective discs that bounce infrared light to cameras equipped within the tool to serve as a tracker. After disc placement, the tool scans the surface of the bone that needs to be removed. The tool recognizes the parameters of the cutting area and shuts off when it's outside those parameters.