Orthopedic Bone Drilling Robot ODRO: Basic Characteristics and Areas of Applications

Abstract

The orthopedic manipulation “bone drilling” is the most executed one in the orthopedic surgery concerning the operative treatment of bone fractures. The drilling process is characterized by a number of input and output parameters. The most important input parameters are the feed rate [mm/s] and the drill speed [rpm]. They play significant role for the final result (the output parameters): thermal and mechanical damages of the bone tissue as well as hole quality. During the manual drilling these parameters are controlled by the surgeon on the base of his practical skills. But the optimal results of the manipulations can be assured only when the input parameters are under control during an automatic execution of the drilling process. This work presents the functional characteristics of the handheld robotized system ODRO (Orthopedic Drilling Robot) for automatic bone drilling. Some experimental results are also shown. A comparison is made between the similar systems which are known in the literature, some of which are available on the market. The application areas of ODRO in the orthopedic surgery practice are underlined.