An image-directed robotic system for hip replacemetn surgery.

We have developed an image-directed robotic system to augment the performance of human surgeons in precise bone machining procedures in orthopaedic surgery, initially targeted at cementless total hip replacement surgery. The total system consists of an interactive CT-based presurgical planning component and a surgical system consisting of a robot, redundant motion monitoring, and manmachine interface components. In-vitro experiments conducted with this system have demonstrated an order-of-magnitude improvement in implant fit and placement accuracy, compared to standard manual preparation techniques. A clinical trial on dogs needing hip replacements has begun.