Studies Reveal Positive Results for Polaris’ STELLAR TKA

Polaris, a developer of advanced mixed-reality surgical guidance technology, has announced favorable data from two clinical abstracts evaluating its STELLAR Knee mixed-reality surgical guidance system for accuracy for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and accuracy in a cadaveric simulated use study with four specimens, where left and right knees were used for surgery.
 
The STELLAR Knee system guides TKA procedures by displaying measured and computed data overlaid directly in a 3D environment. The mixed-reality system acts as a spatial computer, creating continuous data exchange between the surgeon and the software to help enhance surgical decision-making while simplifying operating room workflow.
 
“These findings demonstrate that the STELLAR mixed reality surgical platform achieves sub-millimeter and sub-degree tracking errors, providing balancing and resection accuracy comparable to modern robotic-assisted systems,” said John Cooper, M.D., Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “The system does not need preoperative imaging and requires just 14 intraoperative landmarks, is open-platform and agnostic to knee implant system, overlays meaningful clinical data holographically onto the surgical field, and requires minimal instrumentation, allowing it to maintain a reduced footprint while delivering a comprehensive set of metrics.”  
 
The two studies will be podium presentations during the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty’s (ISTA) 35th Annual Congress on Aug. 31, 2024.
 
“The new data presented by our research partners is a testament to the precision and reliability of our technology,” said Paul Mikus, CEO of PolarisAR. “Achieving sub-millimeter and sub-degree accuracy in both cadaveric simulations and ASTM-standard testing demonstrates our platform can match the precision of robotic systems while offering significant advantages in simplicity and usability for TKA procedures. We believe our technology represents a significant advancement in surgical guidance, providing surgeons with the tools to enhance surgical precision, patient recovery, and reduce the complexity of TKA procedures.”
 
The Mixed Reality Navigation Accuracy for Orthopedic Surgery study evaluates the tracking accuracy of the STELLAR Knee system using the latest ASTM standards for surgical navigation systems. 
 
The platform’s ability to accurately locate points and planes was tested, revealing sub-millimeter and sub-degree accuracy in both positional and angular measurements. The study shows that the STELLAR Knee localizes over points and planes with high precision, providing accuracy comparable to modern robotic-assisted orthopedic surgery systems.
 
Accuracy of a Mixed Reality Surgical Platform for Total Knee Arthroplasty study focuses on the accuracy of the STELLAR Knee mixed reality system in performing TKA. The system was tested using cadaveric specimens, with the accuracy of bone resection being compared to ground truth measurements from calipers and post-operative CT scans. 
 
The results demonstrate that the system achieved sub-millimeter and sub-degree average errors in bone resections, indicating high precision comparable to modern robotic-assisted TKA systems.