Rosa Robotics | Celebration Orthopaedics

Rosa robotic technology improves the outcomes from joint replacement surgery

Over the past five years there has new robotic technology introduced into the operating room that provides the orthopedic surgeon new capabilities associated with the precision of robotic technology.

For decades, automotive manufacturers have converted entire car factories over to robotic arms that provide more precise welds and more accurate fitting of mechanical components.  Porsche, for example, uses robotic manufacturing extensively to improve the precision associated with the assembly of engines and body components. The robotic technology greatly reduces variation associated with the assembly by human hands.

It the area of joint replacement surgery, robotic technology similarly provides a new level of precision related to navigation and mapping out the surgery and placement of the artificial joint. Software within the robotic system links with three-dimensional diagnostic images from MRI and C-arm fluoroscopy. 

While the human eye can differentiate among 256 shades of gray, the robotic software can diffferentiate between  65 million gray scales. Consequently, the robotic system uses this heightened computer-driven precision to control the robotic arms, preventing instruments from coming into contact with any sensitive tissue around the nerves.

Celebration Orthopedics uses the new ROSA Robotic Surgical System to improve the outcomes from joint replacement surgery for the benefit of its patients.

The Zimmer ROSA Robotic Surgery System enhances the accuracy and safety of joint replacement surgery.

The ROSA Robotic System enables orthopedic surgeon in performing joint replacement surgeries as in hip joint replacement. The ROSA robotics system uses 3-dimensional intraoperative software that enables the orthopedic surgeon to map out the joint replacement surgery with greater precision and install the artificial joint with much greater accuracy than the human eye.

The new robotic surgery systems provide the surgeon the power of the computer to precisely shape the joint space and place the artificial joint implant into the ideal position during surgery. The robotic technology not only improves the outcomes from joint replacement but also reduces the amount of time the patient is under anesthesia or imaging because the joint replacement surgery goes faster.

Mapping out the surgery in advance speeds the surgery the next day, as the robotic arms are preset precisely to a quarter of a millimeter that then enable the surgeon to more precisely install the artificial joint for the ideal fit.  The ROSA robot also controls the speed at which surgical screws or plates are installed creating the ideal speed of rotation.

The ROSA robot was initially used in brain surgeries. The ROSA systems was later approved for surgery in the U.S.  As of 2016,  China had 11 ROSA systems in use.  Hospitals in Germany, France, Spain and the US began installing the systems as they saw a huge patient benefit in the area of spine surgery. Hospitals in the United States began installing robotics into the operating room at the request of surgeons wanting the most advanced technology for their patients.

While using robotic technology requires extensive training, the benefits for the patient are huge as surgery goes much faster. This means that the patient is spending less time under anesthesia and less time under fluoroscopy. The ROSA robotic surgery system also often enables the orthopedic surgeon to operate through a smaller incision so the patient has less blood loss, less tissue disruption and less pain as they go through rehab and therapy. Some patients with robotic surgery go home later the same day rather than spending days in the hospital. Consequently, these patients are typically back to activity much faster than with traditional joint replacement surgery.

It’s important to remember that the joint replacement surgeon is still doing the surgery, not a robot. The robotic system is simply performing the surgery that the orthopedic surgeon mapped out in advance.  The ROSA robot is simply adding more precision than what a human is able to provide.