Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Choon‐Ki Lee is a pioneering spine surgeon and researcher whose work has fundamentally advanced the field of robot-assisted spinal surgery. His primary research focus centers on the comparative efficacy, safety, and biomechanical outcomes of robotic versus conventional freehand pedicle screw fixation in lumbar spine procedures, particularly posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF). Lee's most influential contribution is a landmark 2016 prospective randomized controlled trial comparing robot-assisted and freehand pedicle screw fixation, which has garnered 246 citations and established a rigorous scientific foundation for evaluating surgical robotics in spine care. His subsequent work extended this inquiry across biomechanical analysis, quality monitoring through cumulative summation (CUSUM) testing, and longitudinal clinical outcomes tracked over two years, collectively accumulating nearly 500 citations across five major publications. What distinguishes Lee's research is its methodological rigor — consistently employing randomized controlled trial designs — and its clinical breadth, addressing accuracy, patient-specific finite element analysis, and real-world surgical performance metrics. His CUSUM-based quality monitoring study (2014, 112 citations) is particularly notable for offering practical tools to assess surgeon learning curves with emerging robotic technologies. Lee's body of work has meaningfully shaped evidence-based adoption of surgical robotics in spinal medicine worldwide.