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Records of Think Surgical, Inc.

National Museum of American History

Object Details

Creator
Think Surgical, Inc. (Fremont, California)
Names
Bargar, William L.
Erbe, Klaus
Foley, Robert
Forstein, Micah
Engineer
Hanson, Randall
Names
Nacion, Ramon
Newcomb, Alex
Engineer
Whiseant, Steve
Zuhars, Joel
Topic
Inventions -- 20th century
Inventions -- 21st century
Inventors -- 20th century
Inventors -- 21st century
Medical Equipment
Medical innovations
Orthopedics
Provenance
Collection donated by Think Surgical, Inc. through Dr. Mun In-Ki, CEO and President, April 2016.
Creator
Think Surgical, Inc. (Fremont, California)
See more items in
Records of Think Surgical, Inc.
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.
Accruals
152 files (15 .WAV files and 137 .mov files) were transferred from the Division of Medicine and Science to the Archives Center in October 2022.
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.
Extent
5.5 Cubic feet (17 boxes, 1 map folder, digital files)
Date
1983-2010
bulk 1991-1994
Archival Repository
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Identifier
NMAH.AC.1378
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
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
Processing Information
Collection processed by Alison Oswald, archivist, 2016.
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.
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.
Restrictions
Collection is open for research.
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)
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1503510335798-1503510335805-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ep8601b4863-51f3-42bd-93a9-45bf2acd55f5

In the Collection

Pages

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  • Press Clippings

  • Press clippings

  • Robodoc™ clinical trial announcement (press kit0

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System IDE number G920035, IDE Supplement

  • Bargar, William

  • Hanson, Randall

  • Hanson, Randall

  • Channel 10

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Robodoc efficacy project, patient consent forms and protocols

  • Hanson, Randall

  • ROBODOC, Discovery Channel Smart Tools Excerpt

  • Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Part 812, Investigational Device Exemption

  • Bargar, William

  • Foley, Robert

  • Hanson, Randall

  • University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, television coverage of ROBODOC

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Foley, Robert

  • Four surgeries

  • Problems with Robodoc™ system (review of November 7, 1991)

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • ComputerWorld Smithsonian Awards Program, Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc.

  • Video Files

  • Press clippings

  • General ORDB outline for clinical data presentations in premarket notifications and submissions

  • Engineering

  • Pre-operative plan reading software test

  • Audio Files

  • Oral History Interviews

  • Press clippings

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Sutter General Hospital

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System multi-center clinical trials

  • Bargar, William

  • Press clippings

  • University of California, Davis

  • Bargar, William

  • Institutional Review Board (IRB) correspondence

  • Transferring CT data to PC server (supplemental instructions for CT technicians)

  • Integrated Surgical Systems, ROBODOC II

  • Hanson, Randall

  • Press clippings

  • Press clippings

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Hanson, Randall

  • ROBODOC, knee procedure with animation

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Erbe, Klaus

  • Software development standard operating procedures

  • Forstein, Micah

  • Labeling review

  • Hanson, Randall

  • Robodoc™ multi-center trials

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Hanson, Randall

  • Foley, Robert

  • Non-homogenous material milling using a robotic manipulator with force controlled velocity

  • ROBODOC

  • Non-homogenous material milling using a robotic manipulator with force controlled velocity

  • Nacion, Ramon

  • Foley, Robert

  • Foley, Robert

  • Foley, Robert

  • Zuhars, Joel

  • Foley, Robert

  • Nacion, Ramon

  • RFI compliance statement for German EMC/RFI law

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant U.S. multicenter study protocol

  • Robodoc™, a robotic surgical system

  • Electronics cabinet (purchase orders, notes, specifications and instructions)

  • University of California, Davis

  • Robodoc proposal

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant , evaluation and results studies

  • ROBODOC

  • Press clippings

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System Investigational Plan

  • Sacramento News 10

  • Nacion, Ramon

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc., business plan

  • Advisory panel package

  • Foley, Robert

  • ROBODOC 3.4

  • Channel 10

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System Investigational Device Exemption Applications, Volume 4, Exhibits 1-7

  • Project History and Background Materials

  • Zuhars, Joel

  • Correspondence

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Robodoc™, brief history with FDA regulations

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Hanson, Randall

  • Food and Drug Administration Materials

  • ROBODOC

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Robodoc™ clinical trial announcement (press kit0
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There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer
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