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 by Integrated Surgical Systems Inc. to perform a total hip arthroplasty. 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. This occurred in part because the early systems took surgery out of the surgeons' hands, and in part because the early generation technologies were clunky and required doctors to significantly alter their established surgical routines.
But could interest in robotics, and in particular orthopedic applications, be making a comeback? According to presentations at this year's American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting, held in February...
