Thirty years from now, every operating room could have a robot for spine surgeries or joint replacements. Robotics has been the buzz word in spine surgery for years, but most surgeons agree the technology is incomplete. That said, what's next for robotics and how far can it go in spine surgery?

Accelus' LineSider spine system was used with the devicemaker's Remi robotic system for the first time in December.

Akron, Ohio-based Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center is one of the first hospitals in the region with the Mazor X Stealth robotic surgical system.

Kornelis Poelstra, MD, PhD, has completed 1,111 robotic-assisted spine surgeries and says enabling technologies such as robotics and augmented reality are "just beginning to scratch the surface" in spine surgery.

Here are five hospitals and health systems that added spine and orthopedic surgical robots in February:

Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health Network added Medtronic's Mazor X robotic system for minimally invasive spine surgery.

Miami Valley South Hospital in Centerville, Ohio, has begun offering robotic-assisted surgery using the Stryker Mako robot.

Kingsley Abode-Iyamah, MD, performed one of the first robotic-assisted awake spinal fusions in Florida in February, the surgeon announced in a Feb. 25 LinkedIn post.

Abrazo West Campus in Goodyear, Ariz., has performed more than 100 complex spinal fusions with the ExcelsiusGPS robot, which it installed one year ago, AZ Big Media reported Feb. 22.

Ernest Braxton, MD, performed the first awake robot-assisted transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in Colorado, according to a Feb. 20 LinkedIn post.

Smith+Nephew launched its Cori surgical robot for knee replacements in Japan, the devicemaker said Feb. 21.

Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS spine robot has been used in nearly 30,000 procedures since it launched in 2017, the company announced in its fourth quarter earnings call Feb. 17, as transcribed by The Motley Fool.

Columbus (Ind.) Regional Health has added two surgical robots to its orthopedic surgery department. 

Here are seven medical facilities adding orthopedic surgical robots in January:

Scott Grabill, DO, performed the first robotic-assisted knee replacement surgery at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, N.C., The Daily Advance reported Feb. 11.

Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center completed the first total knee replacement on the East Coast using the newest iteration of Think Surgical's TSolution One robot. 

Several spine and orthopedic surgical robots have advanced in 2021 from FDA approvals to extended applications and reach.

Christus Ochsner St. Patrick Hospital in Lake Charles, La., said it became the first hospital in Southwest Louisiana to install ExcelsiusGPS, a robot designed to assist surgeons in spine procedures, NBC affiliate KPLC reported Jan. 31.

Two hospitals in Pennsylvania and North Carolina recently expanded their services to include robotic-assisted joint replacements. 

Smith+Nephew's Cori surgical robot has extended its applications to include total hip replacements.