Novel total hip surgery robotic system based on self-localization and optical measurement

Abstract: This paper presents the development and experimental evaluation of a surgical robotic system for total hip arthroplasty (THA). Although existing robotic systems used in joint replacement surgery have achieved some progresses, the robot arm must be situated accurately at the target position during operation, which depends significantly on the experience of the surgeon. In addition, handheld acetabulum reamers typically exhibit uneven strength and grinding file. Moreover, the lack of techniques to real-time measure femoral neck length may lead to poor outcomes. To tackle these challenges, we propose a real-time traceable optical positioning strategy to reduce unnecessary manual adjustments to the robotic arm during surgery, an end-effector system to stabilise grinding, and an optical probe to provide real-time measurement of the femoral neck length and other parameters used to choose the proper prosthesis. The lengths of the lower limbs are measured as the prosthesis is installed. The experimental evaluation results show that, based on its accuracy, execution ability, and robustness, the proposed surgical robotic system is feasible for THA.