Computer-Assisted Surgery Has Already Arrived in Sports Medicine, and Robots Are Next.

Abstract

Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) is a procedure in which a computerized system actively interacts with surgical instruments to perform specific tasks independent of the human surgeon. This is distinguished from computer-aided navigation (CAN) by the independence of the computer system. Navigation tells the surgeon what to do, whereas RAS does (some of) it. Both RAS and CAN are simply two sub-components of computer-assisted surgery (CAS). CAS is the application of digital technology to improve surgical precision through improved training/education, surgical planning, anatomic alteration, and/or implant placement. Everything from arthroscopic simulators (and eventually, virtual reality) used to train residents, to patient-specific implants (for knee osteotomies), to augmented reality headsets to guide minimally invasive procedures, to RAS and CAN, fall under the umbrella of CAS. The eventual adoption of robot-assisted surgery for orthopaedic sports medicine and arthroscopy procedures is inevitable and will dramatically improve the precision with which we perform surgery.