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Creator:
Think Surgical, Inc. (Fremont, California)  Search this
Names:
Bargar, William L.  Search this
Erbe, Klaus  Search this
Foley, Robert  Search this
Forstein, Micah  Search this
Nacion, Ramon  Search this
Newcomb, Alex  Search this
Engineer:
Hanson, Randall  Search this
Whiseant, Steve  Search this
Zuhars, Joel  Search this
Extent:
5.5 Cubic feet (17 boxes, 1 map folder, digital files)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Date:
1983-2010
bulk 1991-1994
Summary:
The collection documents the development of ROBODOC™, the first robot to perform surgery on a human in the United States through correspondence, memoranda, press clippings, press releases, engineering drawings, regulatory policies and procedures, photographs, and audiovisual materials.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the development of ROBODOC™, a robotic surgical system that would redefine precision joint replacement procedures. The collection contains correspondence, memoranda, press clippings, press releases, engineering drawings, regulatory policies and procedures, photographs, and audiovisual materials documenting the development of the ROBODOC™. The collection is strong in documentation about regulatory policies and procedures the company undertook for approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into six series. Series 1: Project History and Background Materials, 1985-2003 Series 2: Engineering Materials, 1989-2000, bulk 1991-1993 Series 3: User Guides, 1991-2001 Series 4: Food and Drug Administration, 1987-2001 Series 5: Press Clippings, 1983-2010 Series 6: Audiovisual Materials, 1988-2009
Historical:
ROBODOC™ was the first robot to perform surgery in the United States. It was developed in 1986 by IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and researchers at the University of California, Davis. They formed a collaborative initiative to develop a surgical device for Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA). The team included William Bargar, M.D., Howard "Hap" Paul, D.V.M (1949- 1993), and engineers, Brent Mittelstadt and Peter Kazanides. See US Patent 5,769,092 for Computer-aided system for revision total hip replacement surgery and US Patent 5,806,518 for Method and system of positioning surgical robot, 1998. The original company, Integrated Surgical Systems (ISS) was incorporated in 1990. The goal of ISS was to create a robotic surgical system that would redefine precision joint replacement procedures. Drilling into bone by hand is not always precise, and often requires glue to fill in empty spaces. Additionally there is a danger the bone will splinter. In this regard, ROBODOC is similar to computer-controlled machine tools. ROBODOC "mills" the bone or joint for accurate fitting similar to machine tools. In May of 1990 the device was successfully tested on dogs. Since 1998 when it received 510 (K) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Total Hip Arthroplasty over 28,000 procedures have been performed worldwide. ROBODOC™ was eventually sold in 2007 to Novatrix Biomedical, Inc. which formed Curexo Medical, Inc. to handle the acquisition of Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc. (ISS). ISS became THINK Surgical, Inc. in 2014.
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center Odex I Walking Robot Collection (AC0203) Massie/McLurkin Innovative Lives Presentation and Interviews (AC0603) Computer oral History Collection (AC0196) Gerber Scientific Instrument Company Records (AC0929)
Provenance:
Collection donated by Think Surgical, Inc. through Dr. Mun In-Ki, CEO and President, April 2016.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Inventions -- 20th century  Search this
Inventions -- 21st century  Search this
Inventors -- 20th century  Search this
Inventors -- 21st century  Search this
Medical Equipment  Search this
Medical innovations  Search this
Orthopedics  Search this
Identifier:
NMAH.AC.1378
See more items in:
Records of Think Surgical, Inc.
Archival Repository:
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8601b4863-51f3-42bd-93a9-45bf2acd55f5
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nmah-ac-1378