ROBODOC achieves pinless registration

Abstract

The ROBODOC 1 Surgical Assistant System provides computer assisted planning and execution of bone milling for total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty procedures. One key aspect of the robotic procedure is registration, the process of transforming the robot’s milling instructions from the image coordinate system used for planning into the robot coordinate system in which the plan is executed. The first‐generation system performed registration using fiducial markers (pins) implanted in the patient. These markers present various disadvantages to patients, surgeons, and clinics. As a result, users asked for a “pinless” single surgery system. The resulting design, DigiMatch, achieves registration by matching points digitized from the bone anatomy to a three‐dimensional surface model developed from a CT scan of the bone. The DigiMatch system is currently in routine use in many clinics in Europe, and is under clinical evaluation in the USA.