Robot used to advance joint replacement surgeries in Australia
A new robot is helping researchers develop fresh ways of advancing the field of joint replacement surgery.
The robot, known as Kobra, is one of only 20 in the world and is being used by researchers from the University of Sydney and Royal North Shore Hospital to drive medical innovations.
"In the last ten years we've seen a lot of technologies come into the operating theatre that allow us to do the surgery very precisely," Professor Bill Walter, orthopaedic surgeon at Royal North Shore Hospital and Professor of Orthopaedics and Traumatic Surgery at the University of Sydney, said.
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The robot will help researchers innovate new ways of advancing the surgery. 9News
"About 90 per cent of hip and knee replacements last 20 years but there is still 10 per cent that have to be revised."
The $400,000 robot will be used to test implants using plastic and donated human tissue to help improve the function of the joint and make implants more durable that can withstand extreme activities.
"We're really targeting that 10 per cent to try and eliminate the 10 per cent so we get a perfect score," Walter said.
The robot is only one of 20 in the world. 9News
Experts at Sydney's Kolling Institute, where the robot is housed, say they're now able to perform experiments that can mimic human movement.
"Such as a running knee or a squatting knee or kicking a soccer ball," Associated Professor Elizabeth Clarke, Director of the Kolling Institute's Murray Maxwell Biomechanics Laboratory, said.
"Now with this robot, we can move any joint anywhere in space so we can replicate much more complex movements, more lifelike movements."
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The robot will be used to perform experiments to advance surgical techniques. 9News
About one in 11 Australians have osteoarthritis and their worn-out joints can lead to severe pain, stiffness and disability.
Joint replacement surgery has been available for close to half a century and is considered the last resort for patients with advanced disease when non-surgical treatments fail to provide relief.
About 118,000 joint replacement procedures involving the hips, knees and shoulders were performed in Australia in 2020.
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