California-based THINK Surgical, Inc., a robotic technology company that manufactures an active robotic surgical system for orthopedic surgery, and Taiwan-based United Orthopedic Corporation, a designer, manufacturer, and distributor of orthopedic implants and instruments, have announced a partnership geared toward enhanced precision and providing a better fit in total knee replacements.
Robotics Supplier Teams With United Orthopedic Corp
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The collaboration will focus on combining the two company’s pioneering technologies, the THINK Active Robotic System and the UNITED U2 Knee System. As part of the partnership, UNITED will serve as THINK’s exclusive distributor in Taiwan.
The THINK Active Robotic System consists of a 3D pre-surgical planning workstation and a computer-assisted Active Robot tool. These technologies are designed to be used in total joint replacement surgery, ensuring the precise execution of surgical plans.
The U2 Knee System provides surgeons with a simple surgical procedure that reduces the number of trays needed for a TKA (total knee arthroplasty) from 6 to 1.5. Since 2006, the U2 Knee system has been used in more than 140,000 surgeries around the world.
OTW spoke with Calvin Lin, CEO of the U.S. division of United Orthopedic Corporation. Lin said, “The U2 Knee System design enables surgeons to perform a TKA with only 1.5 trays which not only reduces overall sterilization cost, but also increases OR efficiency. When combined with THINK’s revolutionary 3D pre-surgical planning and active robotic technology, we believe we can potentially offer better efficiency both before and during a total knee procedure, helping to ensure a positive outcome for surgeons and patients alike.”
John Hahn, THINK Surgical’s CEO and President, shared his thoughts on the partnership. “Combined with UNITED’s quarter-century reputation as a reliable manufacturer in the medical device space, we believe that THINK’s expertise in robotic technologies will allow us to potentially offer surgeons a more precise experience in total joint replacement surgery.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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