Is There a Scope for an Open Source Philosophy in Robotic Joint Replacement?: Why and How to Make Robotic Platforms Common and Universal for All Implants !

Abstract

Standardisation and open source technologies has transformed our world by levelling the field for innovation and improvisation. In the field of arthroplasty, we are seeing robotic technology make giant strides in terms of wide spread adoption across geographies. The benefits of consistency, reduced intra-surgeon and inter-surgeon variability as well as decreased dependence on complex instrumentation sets and large implant inventories, is a step in the right direction. However they suffer from a very significant drawback; today's robotic systems are essentially closed systems and do not offer cross platform and cross implant compatibility. This point of view dwells on why it is important that robotics become open source and how this can be achieved. A universal system of implant sizing and nomenclature is proposed. This may enable the use of Robotic platform across various commercially available implants seamlessly. As of today, scientific literature and also the marketing literature provides no verifiable rationale for use of varied implant sizing terminology. The proposed universal implant sizing and nomenclature can be based on the Anteroposterior and mediolateral size data obtained from various anthropometric studies down across varied races. TBy building a consensus on the universal implant sizing nomenclature, the field of arthroplasty will achieve a major milestone. It will have benefits including easier documentation, storage and transmission of data. Most importantly, it will be the right step in direction of making the Robotic Technology - open source and thus making it available, accessible and affordable to all.