James Leipzig, MD, recently completed his 85th case using Medtronic's Mazor X Stealth robotic surgical system.

A California spine surgeon recently completed his 100th spine procedure using Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS robot.

Orthopedic joint replacement robots can be a major asset to hospitals and health systems.

The University of Toledo (Ohio) Medical Center added Medtronic's Mazor X Stealth robot, according to a March 31 announcement in The Blade.

Wisconsin orthopedic surgeon David Eggert, MD, began performing robotic-assisted joint replacements five years ago after the launch of Stryker's Mako system and has been impressed with the robot's application for complex cases, according to the Ripon Commonwealth Press.

The worldwide surgical robotics market is projected to reach $18.3 billion by 2028, up from $7.8 billion in 2021, and competition among medtech companies is gathering momentum, according to market research and consulting firm ReAnIn.

From landmark cases to new partnerships, here are six key updates in spine and orthopedic robotics to know from the first quarter of 2022:

Spine surgery is well-positioned to benefit from robotics, which, when paired with next-generation navigation technologies, has the potential to augment the skills of spine surgeons to improve patient safety and outcomes and reduce complications and costs.

Mercy Health's St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio, added the Mazor X Stealth robot, the hospital said in a March 21 news release. 

SpineGuard's first patent application for its dynamic surgical guidance technology was allowed by the U.S. patent and trademark office.

Mitchell Garden, MD, of Torrington, Conn.-based Charlotte Hungerford Hospital, marked 100 spine surgeries with the ExcelsiusGPS robot.

Ronald Hillock, MD, performed the first total knee replacement with a second-generation robot at Centennial Hills Hospital Medical Center in Las Vegas.

An orthopedic surgeon at Meeker-based Colorado Advanced Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Spine at Pioneers Medical Center has reported positive outcomes using a joint replacement robot.

Medical devicemaker Medtronic named Mike Marinaro its operating unit president for surgical robotics, the company said March 17.

DOCS Health, a 21-physician group in Beverly Hills, Calif., is one of the few practices in the world to offer spine surgery with two robots: Medtronic's Mazor X and Globus Medical's ExcelsiusGPS.

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: