IT’S not quite Baymax, the health care robot of Disney smash Big Hero 6, but a £1 million android arm has entered the operating room at a Scottish hospital.
In the animated film, inflatable automaton Baymax is designed to look friendly, read vital signs, and dispense hugs along with diagnoses.
It is unlikely many patients would want to cuddle the sleek Stryker Mako Robotic Arm, but doctors at Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Edinburgh say it can help them transform joint surgery.
The private centre is the first hospital in Scotland to introduce advanced robotics during operations, but the machine has already assisted in 70,000 procedures in almost 20 countries.
Used in hip and knee replacements, the system allows surgeons to remove only the diseased part of the bone, preserving healthy parts of the joint and soft tissue.
Able to make precision cuts, map the surface of a bone and gather information about the tension of ligaments, it said to speed up the recovery process and reduce pain, allowing patients to go home more quickly.
In time, it is hoped that pre-surgery preparation and changes made during the operation with the help of the arm could get people off the operating table and back to their own beds within hours.
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon James Patton, who trained on the system in Australia and Germany, believes it could also help more patients avoid full knee replacements by assisting human experts in partial operations, which are far more difficult to execute.
The procedure relieves pain caused by degeneration due to osteoarthritis that has not yet progressed to all three parts of the joint.
The robot system scans the affected area and matches this to an implant of the exact dimensions required for each individual patient.
Patton said: “This is a significant breakthrough for knee and hip surgery. Not only does the introduction of Mako robotics mean I can personalise every operation to suit each patient, it also allows me to make alterations mid-operation that just couldn’t be made using traditional surgical methods.
“A perfectly-constructed implant needs to be perfectly placed in partial knee replacements.
“It is here where the robot technology comes into its own.
“The cuts made by the robot to remove the damaged section are much more accurate and precise than those made manually, even by the most skilled surgeons.
“It is the perfect partnership, with technology aiding the surgeon.”
He went on: “We will be creating an exact imprint for where the precisely measured implant will go. Even if minor adjustments to alignment and positioning need to be made during the operation, the robot allows the surgeon to do that.”
The system is made by US-based medical technology giant Stryker Corporation, which was founded by an orthopaedic surgeon in 1946 and now trades in more than 100 countries around the world.
Earlier this month the company announced annual sales of $11.3 billion (£8.8m).
Ken Hay, director of Spire Murrayfield Hospital, said: “We are proud to be the first private hospital in Scotland to use this innovative technology.
“It is part of our continuing commitment to providing our community and the people of Scotland with outstanding healthcare services.”
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