Smith & Nephew: Another player in robotic knee surgery 

Smith & Nephew’s Navio surgical system

Smith & Nephew got into the robotic surgical market earlier this year with its $275 million acquisition of Blue Belt Technologies and their Navio System. 

The Navio is designed to work with 8 different knee systems, including Smith & Nephew’s Zuk and Journey Uni devices. The London-based medical products giant, noting that Blue Belt is its “most successful” implant sales partner, has said it plans to continue to support implants from other manufacturers with the Blue Belt system.

Smith & Nephew said it also plans to expand the Navio platform into total knee, bi-cruciate retaining knee and revision knee implants, “delivering significant further upside.”

A total knee system is slated to launch in 2017 for its Journey II implant, Smith & Nephew said last year, and a revision knee system is in the pipeline. Blue Belt’s development program for a bi-cruciate-retaining implant will be incorporated into the British company’s own bi-cruciate-retaining knee arthroplasty program, the Journey II XR implant. Total hip arthroplasty and adjacencies including sports medicine are also on the horizon, the company said at the time.

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Video demonstration of the Navio robotic surgery system