Robotic System Resurfaces Partial Knee Replacements

A new system for performing unicondylar knee replacement (UKR) surgery provides surgeons with improved control when shaving bone tissue in preparation for implant placement.

The NavioPFS system consists of a three-dimensional (3D) camera, a visualization system, and a handheld resurfacing handpiece that provides real-time robotic precision freehand sculpting (PFS), similar to that of a computer-aided design/ computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) system. The NavioPFS handpiece incorporates multiple intelligent control algorithms that allow the surgeon to precisely resurface bone, based on planning created using proprietary UKR surgical software that uses a computerized tomography (CT)-free approach with intraoperative planning.


The advanced algorithms provide real-time feedback detailing implant placement, kinematics, and range of motion, using information fed from a navigation system camera that continuously overlooks the surgery. When coupled with navigation tracking that reports the real-time relative positions of the handpiece and the patient, the system allows PFS and controlled, targeted bone removal, while at the same allowing the robotics to enforce a safety zone. The NavioPFS Robotic Resurfacing System is a product of Blue Belt Technologies (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), and has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“The entire Blue Belt team, including our physician advisors, has remained committed to providing orthopedic surgeons and hospitals a more precise and consistent technique to perform UKR procedures that takes into consideration the current economic environment in our healthcare system,” said Eric Timko, President and CEO of Blue Belt Technologies. “We are confident that NavioPFS accomplishes these goals, and provides excellent results for patients.”

UKR involves placing an implant on just one side of the knee, rather than over the entire surface of the knee joint, as in a total knee replacement (TKR). Because the incision is smaller than with a TKR, patients have less pain, spend less recovery time in the hospital, and can be active sooner. The procedure also reduces risks of infection or blood loss, and patients treated with UKR have more functionality and greater range of motion than patients treated with a TKR.

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