Smith & Nephew entered into a commercial agreement with Blue Belt Technologies to bring robotic orthopedic navigation to the Journey Uni Knee procedure.
Blue Belt Technologies is the maker of the Navio Orthopaedic Surgical System — the next generation of orthopedic robotic technology. As a result of the agreement, the Navio system will be able to implant the Journey Uni partial knee. "A concern with partial knees is that they can be difficult to align and balance," said Smith & Nephew Senior Vice President, Orthopaedic Reconstruction Scott Elliott. "Thanks to this agreement surgeons now have a navigation system that helps alleviate that surgical concern as well as a partial knee that directly addresses implant durability."
The Navio System is designed to enhance surgical precision with preoperative planning and handheld robotic-controlled bone preparation. The system's advanced intraoperative navigation guides the surgeon to optimal implant placement and knee balance for consistent results.
The system is also designed for cost-savings; it does not require preoperative CT images — which saves time and money — and is less than half the cost of a leading competitor.
The Journey Uni implants are also advanced technology as a total knee replacement alternative when patients have osteoarthritis damage on only one side of the knee. The implant is designed to reduce wear and risk of revision surgery — another costly prospect.
More of the large device companies are beginning to tap into robotic technology. In 2012 Stryker launched the computer-assisted surgery system Stryker ADAPT and then last year acquired MAKO Surgical, which has the robotic RIO Robotic Arm for MAKOplasty procedures. A BCC Research report projects the medical robotics and computer-assisted surgical technologies market will reach $4.6 billion in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 7 percent. The United States is also expected to account for 75 percent of the market over the next five years.
Orthopedic applications are expected to more than triple their market share between 2013 and 2019.
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