CAOS Causes Robotic Revival in Orthopedics

It has been nearly a decade since the promise of medical robotics, first unveiled in orthopedic surgery, was introduced with the launch of the Robodoc surgical system. But robotics and other computer-assisted tools such as navigation systems failed to live up to their early hype, and surgeons were slow to adopt the new technology. However, according to presentations made at this year's American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting, held in February in Dallas, improved technology appears to be generating increased interest among orthopedic surgeons in robotics, navigation systems, and other computer-assisted tools, resulting in the emergence of a new sub-specialty called computer-assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS).