Discover the MAKO robotic technology to operate knee prostheses

iMove, the leading centre in traumatology, and Clínica Mi Tres Torres have incorporated the first MAKO robotic arm in Catalonia to perform precision orthopaedic surgeries.

The iMove traumatology team has started performing knee prosthetic surgeries assisted by the use of the Stryker robotic arm from 2022, offering patients greater precision in the interventions and, above all, an improvement in the time and quality of the subsequent recovery.

"Until now, doctors have performed this type of operation with limited precision. With MAKO, we provide a solution to this problem, since we carry out preoperative planning by obtaining a three-dimensional image beforehand by means of a CT scan. The synchronisation of the CT scan with the surgeon's intraoperative assessment allows us, together with the MAKO robotic arm, to obtain the desired precision, with the surgeon always being responsible for decision-making," explains Dr. Joan Leal, head of the knee prosthetic area at iMove.

This is one of the elements that increases the predictability of the operation, minimising its risks, the aggression of the intervention and facilitating the subsequent recovery and postoperative period. The MAKO technology adjusts the intervention and the course of the operation to the millimetre, using the computer.

In this way, the robot fine-tunes each of the operations according to the CT scan received during each patient's pre-operative period. For now, the clinic will start with knee prosthesis interventions, although iMove-Mi Tres Torres is already extending its services to other joints like for hip protheses.

A pioneering technology in Catalonia and Spain iMove becomes the first centre in Catalonia and the second in Spain using MAKO technology to treat osteoarthritis of the knee. The Stryker robotic arm is especially indicated for the recovery of degenerative joint pathology. Thus, iMove and Clínica Mi Tres Torres, specialised centres in the recovery of joint movement and the locomotor apparatus, are taking an in-depth look at medical innovation applied to the knee joint, with osteoarthritis being one of the most prevalent ailments affecting society.

Thanks to Stryker's MAKO technology, iMove and Clínica Mi Tres Torres reaffirm their leadership as a reference clinic for treating osteoarthritis in Catalonia and also in Spain. Osteoarthritis, society's leading cause of permanent disability "In Spain, an estimated seven million people suffer from osteoarthritis, 75% of them women, and it is the leading cause of permanent disability in society," says Dr. Leal.

According to the latest study on the prevalence of rheumatic diseases by the Spanish Society of Rheumatology, 13% of the adult population in Spain has symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee. Moreover, only in Spain, 50% of the population over the age of 65 suffer from this ailment, according to the Spanish Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology (SEGG).

In this sense, a study conducted by the University College London Hospital concludes that a total knee prosthesis assisted by the MAKO robotic arm is associated with less pain, faster recovery and reduced postoperative time in hospitals compared to conventional total knee prosthesis. Specifically, patients demonstrated less need for analgesics, less post-operative bleeding, shorter time to leg raise, shorter time to discharge from hospital (up to 26% less) and improved maximum knee flexion.

Furthermore, according to a study carried out by MAKO SmartRobotics, the robotic arm operation provides the possibility of preparing the pre-op in 3D. It makes it possible to adjust the operations to the specific anatomy of each patient. The AccuStop technology also allows the surgeon to perform the operation more safely, with intraoperative vision and tactile feedback regarding the patient's joint.

As a result, its use solves some of the challenges encountered in knee arthroplasty (total or partial), such as restricted visual field of view of the joint during surgery, the possibility of committing technical errors or inaccurate implantation of the prostheses. An interesting finding of this study is that postoperative morphine costs can be reduced by up to 40%.