Towards More Capable and Less Invasive Robotic Surgery in Orthopaedics

Current surgical robotic systems in orthopaedics lack realistic pre-operative simulations and utilize invasive methods to register bone intra-operatively. A multidisciplinary group of researchers is addressing these deficiencies in the context of robotic cementless hip replacement surgery. In this paper we outline our current research progress and a road-map for the short-term future of our research agenda. This paper addresses four components of this effort: (1) realistic anatomical modeling, (2) biomechanics-based simulations, (3) surface-based registration, and (4) surgical robotics. We are integrating these components with the goal of developing more capable and less invasive robotic systems for use in orthopaedic surgery.