Skip to main content

Search

My Visit
Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Maps and Brochures
    • Dine and Shop
    • Accessibility
    • Visiting with Kids
    • Group Visits
      • Group Sales
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current
      • Upcoming
      • Past
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • - Art & Design
    • - History & Culture
    • - Science & Nature
    • Collections
      • Open Access
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Asian Art Museum Archives
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Podcasts
    • Stories
  • Learn
    • For Caregivers
    • For Educators
      • Art & Design Resources
      • Science & Nature Resources
      • Social Studies & Civics Resources
      • Professional Development
      • Events for Educators
      • Field Trips
    • For Students
    • For Academics
    • For Lifelong Learners
  • Support Us
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Membership
    • Make a Gift
    • Volunteer
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Ambassador Program
      • Museum Information Desk
      • Docent Programs
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Participatory Science
  • About
    • Our Organization
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
        • Contact
      • Museums and Zoo
      • Research Centers
      • Cultural Centers
      • Education Centers
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Employee Benefits
        • How to Apply
        • Job Opportunities
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • EEO & Small Business
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Small Business Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Contracting Opportunities
          • Additional Resources
        • Special Emphasis Program
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Combating Trafficking in Persons
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Our Leadership
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

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

  • « first
  • ‹ previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Robo-Doc

  • Robodoc™ Preoperative protocols (international edition)

  • Robotic instrumentation for cementless hip replacement, Department of health and Human Services (grant application)

  • Press clippings

  • Procurement specifications, pin style spanner wrench for fixator mounting

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Bauer, Boerner, and Draenert. The Robodoc Assistance in Total Hip Replacement

  • Press clippings

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System Pin Implantation and CT Protocols

  • Press clippings

  • Nacion, Ramon

  • Integrated Surgical Systems, ROBODOC #1

  • Robodoc operative report form

  • Dr. William Bargar (project time)

  • Robodoc™ histology (incudes photographs of canine)

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System and Orthodoc™ preoperative Planning System

  • Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc., Securities and Exchange Commission, Form 10-Q and 10-QSB

  • Procurement specification for swivel machine leveling mount for leg support

  • Institutional Review Board (notes and correspondence)

  • Forstein, Micah?

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System clinical study case form

  • Forstein, Micah?

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Bargar, William

  • Conference call notes

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Robodoc™ clinical feasibility studies

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Zuhars, Joel

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Press clippings

  • Procurement specification, screw fastening kinematics plate to kinematic post

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Dr. William Bargar talk

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Digimatch Robodoc™ Surgical Assistance System (institutional review board materials)

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Forstein, Micah

  • First ROBODOC cementless total hip replacement

  • B-Roll at Think Surgical, Inc.

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Investigational device exemption, comments and suggestions

  • Procurement specification, Robodoc thread mounting plate

  • Specifications for labeling

  • Non-staff assist for Robodoc™ device training

  • Channel 13, ROBODOC

  • ROBODOC segment on Discovery Channel

  • Design document, isolation transformer

  • Anteroposterior laterial fit data

  • Robodoc™ independent radiographic review

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • Robodoc™ User Manual (international edition

  • Interview notes of Hap Paul and William Bargar

  • Photographs

  • Forstein, Micah

  • Erbe, Klaus

  • Nacion, Ramon

  • Whiseant, Steve

  • ROBODOC at Sutter General Hospital

  • Nacion, Ramon

  • Design review and meeting summaries

  • Orthodoc™ Bedienungsanleitung

  • ROBODOC brochure materials

  • Integrated Surgical Systems, Inc. (company overview)

  • Robodoc™ Surgical Assistant System, adjunct clinical study protocol

  • Engineering budget planning

  • Experimental subjects bill of rights and consent form

  • Press clippings

  • Bargar, William

  • Robo-Dock

  • Bargar, William

  • Pin installation, kit sterilization procedure

  • Newcomb, Alex

  • ORTHODOC 5.0

  • Robodoc™ protocols and consent

  • Staff meeting summaries

  • C.T. pin installation tools

  • Robodoc™ User Manual (international edition) with illustrations

  • Operating room display stand (Drawing #100187)

  • Drawings, Eng 2000 to Eng 3000 (base for ROBODOC)

  • Kinematic diagnostic assembly

  • Robodoc surgical tool control cabinet

  • Drawings, 101198 to 101295 (base for ROBODOC)

  • Robot Interface, RIM box (Drawing #100145)

  • Drawings, Eng 20033 to Eng 20043 (base for ROBODOC)

  • Robot Interface, RIM box (Drawing #100145)

  • Orthodoc assembly

  • Techmedica (implants)

  • Drawings, 101301 to 101375 (base for ROBODOC)

  • Pin location sleeve assembly and bearing sleeve

  • Drawings, unidentified and drawing list

Pages

  • « first
  • ‹ previous
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
Robodoc™ clinical trial announcement (press kit0
View Slideshow
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
View Finding aid

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Get Involved
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Accessibility
  • EEO & Small Business
  • Shop Online
  • Host Your Event
  • Press Room
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Sign up for Smithsonian e-news

Get the latest news from the Smithsonian

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Back to Top