Aug 31 2010
Surgeons in Fort Lauderdale (FL)’s Holy Cross Hospital, in tandem with OrthoSensor, have executed the first ever knee surgery, with a cutting edge technology, such as robotic surgery and embedded nanosensors. The use of sensor technology is chiefly to enhance the recuperation of the patients and also the total implant utility.
Dr. Martin Roche, Surgical Director of the Orthopedic Institute at Holy Cross, and Chief of Orthopedic Robotics at Holy Cross, who performed the surgery with the assistance of his team, stated that, the hi-tech nanosensors permit surgeons to acquire enhanced balance in soft tissue, and the patient’s exact motion and movements. Currently the trend is to perform minimal invasive surgical operations such as knee surgery by incorporating customer-specific robotic implant positioning with sensor aided soft tissue balance, and alignment is achieved with the help of computers. He further stated that this was great news for the patients numbering 600,000, going through knee replacement procedures yearly.
The procedure is done with the help of the MAKO surgical robot. The robot helps by providing accurate information and control to recognize what needs replacement, to the surgeons, to sculpt the knee and restore or change only what is essentially needed. The MAKO RIO was developed with the assistance of Dr. Roche, and ushered into the markets in the year 2006. It has so far performed more than 300 knee replacement operations at Holy Cross.
According to Dr. Roche, each and every surgery could be customized, and recuperation time could be bettered. To illustrate this point, he quoted that in the operation, after a small incision or slit, the ailing knee portion would reemerge, without affecting the adjacent ligaments or healthy bones. By using a customer-specific implant within the joint, the knee can be hoped to achieve smooth movements again. A leading light in the field of joint replacements, sensor and robotic solutions, Dr. Roche is an expert in the field of knee cartilage regeneration.
The U.S. News and World Report have graded Holy Cross to be one among the top two orthopedic hospitals in Florida. The hospital is available for its patients with 571 beds and 600 physicians on board with more than 2800 employees.