From landmark cases to new partnerships, here are six key updates in spine and orthopedic robotics to know from the first quarter of 2022:
1. Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Cos. partnered with Microsoft to expand its digital surgery ecosystem. The company will use Microsoft Cloud to link its medical technologies under one network for enhanced surgical workflow, surgeon decision-making and patient outcomes.
2. Smith+Nephew's Cori surgical robot extended its applications to include total hip replacements. The robot includes the devicemaker's RI.Hip Navigation software, which is designed for increased accuracy.
3. Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS spine robot has been used in nearly 30,000 procedures since it launched in 2017.
4. Ernest Braxton, MD, performed the first awake robot-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in Colorado.
5. Kingsley Abode-Iyamah, MD, performed one of the first robotic-assisted awake spinal fusions in Florida in February.
6. DOCS Health, a 21-physician group in Beverly Hills, Calif., is one of the few practices in the world to offer spine surgery with two robots: Medtronic's Mazor X and Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS.