Robot guided water jet cutting to assist osteotomies of human bones

Abstract

Displacement osteotomy is an operative method for load relieving of pre-damaged joints through the correction of skeletally-based abnormal displacements of leg axes. We present an experimental operating room set-up to demonstrate the applicability of a robot guided water jet osteotomy for human tibial bones. We show that smooth, circular shaped cut surfaces can be obtained with this technology that allow for an easy and precise correction of the leg axis.