1A1-C12 A tool system to protect soft tissues for robot-assisted orthopedic surgery

Abstract

In robot-assisted orthopedic surgery system, rotational tools are often used because traditional industrial CAM can be applied to these systems. On the other hand, in case that a rotational cutting tool is used, non-working part of the cutting edge is likely to collide and damage soft tissue such as skin, tendon and patella. We developed a cutting tool equipped with a tool cover to cover a non-working part of the cutting edge to protect soft tissue in minimally invasive orthopedic surgery. In order to evaluate the cutting tool system, we performed a total knee arthroplasty with a cadaver. The experiment showed that the cutting tool system decreased the damage of soft tissue and the cutting tool system was effective.