DePuy Synthes next-gen robotics assists in first knee arthroplasty in Sydney

MedTech News: DePuy Synthes in Australia, the orthopaedics business unit of Johnson & Johnson, announced that the first clinical cases in Australia with the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution were undertaken at The Mater Hospital Sydney. The VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution is indicated for use with the ATTUNE Knee System for total knee arthroplasty.

Dr. Matt Lyons, orthopaedic surgeon at The Mater Hospital Sydney, said “Our surgical team has been anticipating the arrival of the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution at the Mater since it first gained approval in Australia. Being able to plan patient-specific surgery tailored to each patient’s individual anatomy with the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution lets us visualise and predict joint stability to support optimal patient outcomes.”

Ben Travers, Vice President of DePuy Synthes Australia, Johnson & Johnson Medical Pty Ltd, said “These cases represent a historic first step for patients as we advance next generation surgery with Australia’s first ever clinical use of the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution. The Mater Sydney’s adoption of our innovative surgical technology is only the beginning as we strive to improve patient outcomes through state-of-the-art digital surgery.  We look forward to more patients benefiting from the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution in hospitals around Australia.”

The VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution is a first-of-its-kind operating table mounted solution that adapts to the surgeon’s workflow. It utilises advanced planning capabilities, proprietary technology, and a next generation design to help surgeons accurately resect bones that align and position the implant relative to the soft-tissue during total knee replacement without the need for pre-operative imaging. The efficient and compact design integrates into any operating room and does so with a much smaller footprint, at less than half the size of some other robotic-assisted solutions.

The arrival of the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution at the Mater Sydney is accompanied by the Johnson & Johnson Institute’s first-of-its-kind in Australia Mobile Training Lab, which made training even more accessible to the Mater’s surgical team. The VELYS Mobile Lab provides on-site access to next-generation hands-on training, virtual reality-based operating environments, and real-time collaboration with the global surgical community, all of which is designed to equip the Mater’s orthopaedic surgeons to be proficient with the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution.

Dr. Lyons added “Having access to the VELYS Mobile Lab nearby accelerated our training process significantly and enabled us to get our teams up and running on this new technology, quickly.”