Surgical robot demonstration draws crowd at Live Well Showcase

By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on June 10, 2022.

Herald photo by Al Beeber Dr. Joseph Bergman of Logan Health in Kalispell talks to an audience at the Live Well showcase in the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization about a robotic device used for knee and hip surgeries.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

An orthopaedic surgical robot could do more precise operations on knees and hips but southern Albertans shouldn’t expect to see one here any time soon.
The Mako SmartRobotics machine attracted a huge throng of people to hear a talk at the Lethbridge Senior Citizens Organization on Thursday during the Live Well Showcase.
The device, built by medical technology company Stryker based in Michigan, combines three components into one platform which the manufacturer says has shown better outcomes for knee and hip patients.
The machine, however, costs $1 million and while there are a thousand currently being used in the U.S., only two are operating in Canada.
Orthopaedic surgeon Lance Anderson of Lethbridge, who was among those listening to a presentation by Dr. Joseph Bergman, said because of the cost of the robotic device, patients aren’t likely to see one here soon.
“There’s no plans for us to get one,” said Anderson in the LSCO dining room.
“They’re very expensive and I don’t know if that’s in the hospital plans.”
In addition to the price of the robot, there are other ongoing costs including the salary of a person to operate it plus equipment.
Benefits of the device, he said, “is just being very precise. Precision is the main thing.”
“Say we want to take eight millimetres of bone off on this side and 10 millimetres of bone off on this side and we want to cut with a five degree angle, most of that we do with just jigs and we use alignment things. So it’s good but it’s not as precise as this. When we cut it, I would hope that we’re maybe say 90 per cent within plus or minus half a millimetre whereas that would be 99.99 per cent precise.”
With more precision, “then you think that may translate into less potential errors. But it’s hard to say, it may not, I don’t know,” added Anderson.
“I think it’s coming, I don’t know how quickly it will proliferate in Canada but I think it’s a foregone conclusion that that will become much more commonplace in Canada. It’s just a question of cost,” said Anderson.
The Mako system combines 3D CT-based planning, AccuStop haptic technology and data analytics into the single platform, says the company.
The company says on its website that a minimum three-year follow-up for Mako partial knee patients showed no implant failure or implant-related complication or revision surgery.
The company says the device’s haptic technology guides doctors in cutting precisely for each patient, which means preserving soft tissue for some and healthy bone for others.

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