Biomechanics-aware real-time robotics (BARR) for intelligent assistance of knee surgery and rehabilitation

Musculoskeletal injuries due to osteoarthritis and accidents are prevalent in the Netherlands with enormous treatment and lost productivity costs (€3.5 billion). However, no tools are available to provide surgeons and therapists with insights into the forces and motion occurring in the injured tissue or repaired joint. Our project aims to tightly couple ground-breaking biomechanical models and algorithms with leading-edge collaborative and interactive control to develop biomechanics-aware real-time robotics (BARR). We envision BARR providing the surgeon and therapist with critical tissue loading and joint motion awareness leading to insights that guide patient treatments towards full functional recovery from a knee injury.