Robots are now used in 5% of knee and hip procedures. MAKO has installed 1,500 robots in hospitals worldwide and ExcelsiusGPS has been used 35,000 procedures (according to the BoneZone‘s new infographic).
Unfortunately, we can all thank Stryker for this. They created the MAKO business model that all the device companies follow. The hospitals have been “duped” into forever implant purchases for the sake of hospital marketing and advertising of the new robot, not for the sake of better outcomes.
While Robots are the rage right now, these one-dimensional robots are going to start looking like your parents’ technology… like an outdated cell phone.
Robots are big, dumb, expensive tools that can only do one thing.
Enter the smart Operating System (OS).
The new OS will be flexible, adaptive and agnostic to any robot or device usage. The new OS will “see” and “know” everything going on in the operating room. The OS will not care about what implant is being used in the procedure, if there is a robot in the room or a rep in the room. It’s programmed to improve outcomes with better faster surgery (not to sell more implants).
