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performance with an improved user-friendly system which led to
a massive applause offered by doctors present at the surgical
demonstration from Korea and various other countries. "Good
afternoon, everyone," said Dr. Song, entering the operating
room, "This is a 77 year old female who has been complaining of
right knee pain for one year," before he began the surgery, with
his usual confidence, he explained to the audience that he will use
a "preoperative planning system based on the laxity prediction
technique" for the operation whose net results will be 5mm.
While performing a minimally invasive surgery (MIS), which allows
for a far smaller cut to the skin than typical surgery, Dr.
Song could reduce the operation time by treating the patient by
using the robot. By doing so, he demonstrated to the world how
precise and accurate the operation can be with Robodoc.
In the front line of such inspiring live surgery, Dr. Song is a
renowned knee joint specialist who was selected for a medical
documentary program that aired on EBS TV in August. He is also
noted as the top robot-assisted nearthrosis surgeon in Korea.
Moreover, he was appointed the 2012 President of the
International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopedic Surgery
(CAOS International), and has written more papers in the field
than anyone else in Korea. Currently, there are only three surgery
robots worldwide that are approved by the U.S. FDA and subsequently
made for commercial purpose, and it was Dr. Song who
consulted with the FDA for approval of Robodoc.
Robodoc was another hero of this successful operation.
Developed 18 years ago through collaborative efforts of IBM and
the University of California, Davis, in the U.S. Its first successful
nearthrosis surgery on a real person left a huge mark in the history
of medicine. Currently, the number of nearthrosis surgeries performed
by Robodoc is estimated to be 7,000 in Korea and 27,000
worldwide. Robodoc's system consists of a workstation called
Orthdoc, and Robodoc which has a robotic arm. Orthdoc reconstructs
a CT image in 3D as it plans the operation, then proceeds
with a simulated operation, based on which Robodoc later cuts
the bone with great precision. A re-operation rate of less than one
percent makes evident the precision and accuracy of the robot.
Among the only three commercial surgical robots approved by
the FDA, Robodoc is owned by a Korean company, Curexo
(http://www.curexo.com/), and is the only nearthrosis surgery
robot in the world.
This was the second open nearthrosis surgery assisted by the
robot; the first was also held at Chonnam University Hospital in
2008 when Dr. Song introduced the robot surgery along with
conventional manual operation. At the moment, Robodoc is taking
part in the robot application division of Ministry of
Knowledge Economy's Smart Project, the government's effort to
produce Korean-made robots.
The live surgery performed by Dr. Song and Robodoc this time
bared huge significance, particularly when the government announced
their determination to promote the development of the
Korean robot industry for the global market. In particular,
Robodoc, which has 24 patents under its belt, is expected to take
lead in such a move, and Dr. Song Eun-Kyoo, 2012 President of
CAOS International will also play a vital role in the development
of Korean and global orthopedics as well as computer and robotassisted
surgical operations.
Kim Yearim/ yearim@koreaittimes.com
You can get
more information
by visiting at
http://www.curexo.com
or
www.robodoc.com
and by contacting to
Ms. Kayla Yoon,
marketing PR manager
of Curexo
(noelle@curexo.com)
Robodoc Successfully performs live operation
28 KOREA IT TIMES | December 2010