Robot-Assisted Partial Knee Replacement Versus Standard Total Knee Replacement (RoboKnees)

May 6, 2025 updated by: McMaster University

Robot-Assisted Partial Knee Replacement Versus Standard Total Knee Replacement: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

This is a pilot randomized trial to assess the feasibility of a definitive trial to determine the effect of robot-assisted partial knee replacements versus standard total knee replacements.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) pain is an important source of morbidity and cost to the health care system. Over 60,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed in Canada every year, making it the second most common surgery. Our institution (St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton) is the first hospital in Canada to purchase a Mako RIO orthopaedic robot to assist with performing knee replacements. The knee is divided into three compartments, and one, two, or all three compartments can become arthritic. Over 90% of patients with end-stage knee OA receive a total knee replacement (also known as total knee arthroplasty or TKA) even if they have one or two healthy knee compartments. Partial knee replacements are an option for these patients but these procedures are very technically demanding and associated with a higher risk of implant failure. For this reason, few surgeons are experts at partial knee replacements. We believe that we can use robotic technology to make it easier for surgeons to perform partial replacements more accurately, thereby increasing the quality and survivorship of partial knee replacements. This may lead to better patient-important outcomes like return to activity, pain, and satisfaction, and eventually better access to high-quality partial knee replacements for Canadians. This will be the first study to evaluate total knee replacements (standard care) versus robot-assisted partial knee replacements, and could lead to greater uptake of robotic technology in orthopaedics and a shift toward anatomy-sparing partial knee replacements.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
64

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
    • Ontario
      • Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8N 4A6
        • St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion criteria

  • Adult (18+)
  • Unicompartmental knee OA with or without concomitant patellofemoral OA, requiring surgical treatment
  • Two study surgeons independently agree that the patient is eligible for either treatment group

Exclusion criteria

  • Inability to provide informed consent (e.g. cognitive disability, language barrier)
  • Revision knee surgery
  • Simultaneous bilateral knee surgery
  • Previous major knee surgery or trauma
  • The robot or required components are unavailable (e.g. technical difficulties, robot-specific disposables out of stock)
  • A CT scan cannot be obtained prior to surgery
  • Patient does not wish to participate

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Standard total knee arthroplasty
Participants who are randomized to the control group will undergo TKA according to local standard of care. The choice of implant and use of bone cement will be recorded but left to the surgeon's discretion according to their standard practice.
Procedure: Total knee arthroplasty
Surgeon will perform a total knee arthroplasty procedure according to local standard of care
Other Names:
  • Total knee replacement
Experimental: Robot-assisted partial knee arthroplasty
Participants with isolated medial or isolated lateral compartment OA who are randomized to the intervention group and have one affected knee compartment will receive a robot-assisted unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). If the patient has medial or lateral OA plus patellofemoral OA they will receive a bicompartmental knee arthroplasty (BiKA) consisting of a two simultaneous UKAs. The partial knee replacement procedures will be performed using the Mako RIO robotic arm (Stryker) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The choice of implant and use of bone cement will be recorded but will be left to the surgeon's discretion. Surgeons will resurface the patella if the patellar cartilage meets Outerbridge grade 3 or 4 criteria
Procedure: Robot-assisted partial knee arthroplasty
Surgeon will perform a robot-assisted unicompartmental or bicompartmental knee arthroplasty procedure
Other Names:
  • MakoPlasty

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility- Recruitment
Time Frame: 12 months
The number of patients recruited during a 12 month period
12 months
Feasibility- Participant retention
Time Frame: 12 months
Number of patients completing the study
12 months
Feasibility- Treatment compliance
Time Frame: 12 months
The number of crossovers during a 12 month period
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Return to function questionnaire
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will use the 5-item Return To Function (RTF) questionnaire to determine when a trial participant returns to work, leisure, and activities around the home after an injury or surgery (measured as time to return to unrestricted activities).
12 months post-surgery
Oxford knee score
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will measure knee function using the Oxford Knee Score (OKS), which is a validated and well-used 12 item questionnaire used to measure knee function when performing daily activities after total knee replacement surgery. The OKS is scored on a 0-48 scale with higher scores representing a better outcome.
12 months post-surgery
Forgotten joint score
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will use the Forgotten Joint Score (FJS-Knee) to measure how natural the replaced knee feels. The FJS-Knee is a 12 item questionnaire that aims to assess both function and feeling by asking about patients' awareness of their artificial knee while doing various daily activities. The FJS is scored on a 0-100 scale with higher scores representing a better outcome.
12 months post-surgery
Gait walking mechanics analysis
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
Overground walking kinematic gait analysis will be performed in the clinic environment using a ten-camera optoelectronic motion capture system. Primary gait outcomes will include the knee joint flexion and adduction angle magnitudes and range during the stance phase of gait. Secondary gait outcomes will include stride characteristics as defined above, knee transverse rotation during stance, knee flexion during swing, hip and ankle range of motion and peak magnitudes during stance.
12 months post-surgery
Quality of life- EQ-5D
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will use the Euro-Qol 5 Dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire, a widely used and well-validated quality of life tool, to measure participant quality of life. The EQ-5D is a comprehensive, 5-item compact health status classification and health state preference questionnaire.
12 months post-surgery
Persistent post-surgical pain (PPSP)
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery

We will use a modified version of the WHO's definition of PPSP, to include a minimum threshold of pain severity:

  1. Pain that began after surgery or a tissue trauma;
  2. Pain is in an area of preceding surgery or tissue trauma;
  3. Pain has persisted for at least three months after surgery; and
  4. The pain is not better explained by an infection, malignancy, a pre-existing pain condition or any other alternative cause.
  5. ≥4 out of 10 on the numeric rating scale (NRS) from the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI-SF) for "average pain over the last week". The scale ranges from 0 (no pain) to 10 (pain as bad as you can imagine)
12 months post-surgery
Patient global impression of change score
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will use The Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scale to assess patients' beliefs about the efficacy of treatment. The PGIC is one item and asks patients to rate the effectiveness of the treatment of interest on a 7-point ordinal scale ranging from "very much improved" to "very much worse
12 months post-surgery
Healthcare resource use (for cost-effectiveness)
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will collect healthcare resource utilization information (e.g. hospitalization, physician visits) and information on productivity (e.g. time missed from work) to assist with health economic analyses.
12 months post-surgery
Rage of motion (ROM)
Time Frame: 6 weeks post-surgery
We will measure knee ROM using a goniometer at in-clinic visits according to standard practice
6 weeks post-surgery
Knee alignment
Time Frame: Post-surgery
We will measure mechanical alignment on pre-operative and post-operative weightbearing x-rays
Post-surgery
Adverse events
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will collect all serious adverse events and surgery-related non-serious adverse events throughout the trial for safety monitoring purposes
12 months post-surgery
Short-term implant survival
Time Frame: 12 months post-surgery
We will report the number of revision surgeries within the study period including cases of periprosthetic joint infection, aseptic loosening, instability, poly wear, intractable pain, periprosthetic fracture etc.
12 months post-surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
McMaster University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
Hamilton Academic Health Sciences Organization

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Anthony Adili, MD, P.Eng, FRCSC, McMaster University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
November 23, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 4, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 4, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 9, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 6, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
May 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • RoboKnees

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

We will share data upon reasonable request for non-commercial purposes. This may require an institutional data-sharing agreement.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Upon study completion.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings