During a joint replacement procedure, your surgeon cuts away damaged bone and cartilage and replaces it with artificial components made of metal alloys, high-grade plastics and polymers. Mako SmartRobotics™ technology helps your specially trained UCHealth orthopedic specialist plan and execute the joint replacement down to the finest detail:
Using Mako system software, your provider performs a computerized tomography (CT) scan before your surgery to create an operative plan. This includes how much bone to remove, and how to maximize the accuracy of the alignment and placement of the implant.
During your surgery, the robotic arm ensures that this plan is followed exactly.
In every step of your surgery, the robotic arm guides your orthopedic surgeon with tactile, visual and auditory feedback to achieve the desired placement of the individual components of the artificial joint. They must be placed in the best possible alignment to mesh together properly and work smoothly, achieving proper stability and mobility. This is one of the most difficult aspects of joint replacement surgery—the robotic arm helps ensure a successful outcome.
In clinical (partial knee¹ and total hip²) and laboratory (total knee³) studies, Mako SmartRobotics™ helped surgeons perform surgical plans more accurately.
¹Anthony I, Bell SW, Blyth M, Jones B et al. Improved accuracy of component positioning with robotic-assisted unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016;98-A(8):627-35.
²Elson L, Dounchis J, Illgen R, Marchand R, et al. Precision of acetabular cup placement in robotic integrated total hip arthoplasty. Hip Int 2015; 25(6):531-536.
³Hampp E. Scholl L. Prieto M. et al. Robotic-arm assisted total knee arthroplasty demonstrated greater accuracy to plan compared to manual technique. CAOS 17th Annual Meeting. June 14-17, 2017. Aachen, Germany.