Computer Navigation for Total Knee Replacement

A total knee replacement surgery can be performed after non operative treatments have failed to improve pain and function in a knee damaged by arthritis. The procedure involves replacing the damaged surfaces of the joint with metal and long life polyethylene. Most of these implants wear with use. Thus, the risk of need for revision surgery is higher in young and active people. The life of the implant can be extended by precise alignment of the implant and this can be achieved using computer navigation for total knee replacement surgery.

Computer navigation provides the surgeon with the real time 3-D images of the mapped patient’s knee and the surgical instruments during surgery. The data for the images is provided by the infrared sensors fixed to the bones of the knee and the surgical instruments. Their position is tracked by an infrared camera placed above the surgical table connected to the computer. The computer then generates the real-time images with the help of the appropriate software to guide the surgeon to precisely resurface and cut the bones of the knee and fix the implant precisely & accurately according to the pre-operative surgical plan. Thus, the surgery is done by the surgeon only. Computer navigation is a tool to guide the surgeon and improve the outcome of the surgery. It cannot replace the skills of an experienced surgeon.