I thought I was simply going for another pre-operative test.
By this point in my hip replacement journey, tests and appointments have become part of the landscape. X-rays, ultrasound, MRI, a fluoroscopy-guided hip injection, and now a 3D CT scan have all helped move the process along from “something hurts” to a clearer diagnosis and, eventually, a surgical plan.
Each test or procedure added another piece of information. Some ruled things out. Some pointed more clearly toward the hip itself. The injection was both a treatment attempt and another clue, because how my hip responded helped show whether the joint itself was the source of the pain.
Alongside the medical investigations came the daily adaptations: reachers, a long-handled shoehorn, a sock aid, a cane, and then a walker for longer distances. Other changes were quieter but just as significant: changing how I sit, how I lie down, how I try to sleep, and how I plan ordinary parts of the day around what my hip and back will tolerate.
But this week, the journey took a very different turn — from diagnostic tests and daily adaptations to imaging, surgical planning, and robotics.
My appointment simply said “CT hip without contrast,” so I did not go in thinking of it as a 3D scan. I knew it was being done to give my surgeon more information before surgery, but I did not fully understand how it might be used until afterward.
While I was there, the staff mentioned something I hadn’t realized: the hospital has been using the Mako surgical system for about a year.
The staff mentioned the system almost in passing, quickly enough that I could easily have missed it. But the name caught my attention. I paused and asked what it was called, and how it was spelled, because I knew I would want to look it up later.
That probably says something about me.
I was there as a patient, of course, but my healthcare background and my inner science nerd both came along for the appointment. A 3D CT scan was already interesting enough. Learning that it might be connected to a robotic-assisted surgical system made me even more curious.
Only recently, I was writing about artificial intelligence and the way new technology is becoming both intriguing and practical. Then I found myself lying on a CT scanner, realizing that advanced technology is now part of my own very practical, very personal journey to a new hip.
Mako is the system my hospital mentioned, so that is the one I started reading about first. It is made by Stryker and is used in robotic-arm assisted hip and knee replacement surgery. From what I understand so far, the CT scan helps create a three-dimensional image of my own hip anatomy. With systems such as Mako, that imaging can be used to help the surgeon create a personalized surgical plan before the operation.
But the technology does not stop at measurement.
The Mako system includes robotic-arm assistance, computer guidance, and visual feedback that the surgeon uses during the procedure. The surgeon remains in control, but the system helps guide the planned preparation of the bone and placement of the implant. In hip replacement, that can include preparing the socket area so the new cup can be positioned according to the surgical plan.
That is the part I find so fascinating.
This is not a robot replacing a surgeon. It is a surgeon using a highly specialized tool that combines imaging, planning, navigation, and robotic-arm assistance. The goal is not simply to “measure twice,” although that matters too. The goal is to help the surgeon plan and carry out the procedure with greater precision.
I also found myself feeling unexpectedly relieved.
One of my worries about hip replacement has been whether the new joint will leave my legs feeling even, or whether I will be left with a limp because one leg feels longer or shorter than the other. No technology can promise a perfect outcome, and surgery is still surgery. But learning that my procedure may involve 3D planning and robotic-arm assistance gave me one more reason to feel reassured.
The idea of being mapped, measured, and planned for this carefully feels oddly hopeful.
There is also a broader Canadian healthcare angle to this.
Mako may be the name I heard during my CT appointment, but it is not the only robotic-assisted orthopedic system in the Canadian landscape. In healthcare, expensive equipment rarely has only one player in the field. Hospitals and health systems often evaluate competing technologies, consider costs and evidence, and may go through purchasing or request-for-proposal processes before choosing a system.
In orthopedic surgery, different companies have developed robotic-assisted platforms for joint replacement. Mako is Stryker’s system. ROSA is Zimmer Biomet’s robotic knee system. VELYS is a DePuy Synthes robotic-assisted system used in total knee replacement. These systems are not all identical, and they may not be used for the same procedures, but they are part of the same larger movement: using advanced imaging, computer guidance, planning software, and robotic assistance to support joint replacement surgery.
That broader picture matters because Canadian adoption has not happened all at once.
The ROSA Knee System received Health Canada authorization in 2019. The Mako SmartRobotics system was authorized for use in Canada for partial and total knee replacement and total hip replacement on July 23, 2020. VELYS was approved by Health Canada by 2021 for use with the ATTUNE Knee System in total knee arthroplasty.
From what I could find, the East Coast was early in bringing Mako into Canadian orthopedic care. Nova Scotia’s QEII Health Sciences Centre became the second hospital in Canada to receive the Mako orthopedic surgical robot in 2021, and Dartmouth General Hospital later reported Canada’s first total hip replacement using the Mako SmartRobotics system in January 2023.
Since then, robotic-assisted joint replacement appears to have been spreading across the country, hospital by hospital and system by system. Some centres use Mako. Others use systems such as ROSA for knee replacement. The exact technology may vary, but the larger trend is the same: Canadian hospitals are gradually adding robotic-assisted tools to orthopedic surgery.
That gradual rollout makes sense to me. In a publicly funded healthcare system, a major piece of surgical equipment does not simply appear everywhere at once. It may depend on hospital planning, regional priorities, budgets, surgeon training, research partnerships, vendor proposals, and foundation fundraising.
So when the CT staff mentioned that my hospital has been using the Mako system for about a year, I realized I was hearing two stories at the same time.
One was my own story as a patient preparing for surgery.
The other was a bigger story about how newer surgical technology moves into Canadian healthcare: first through approval, then through early adopters, then gradually into more hospitals across the country.
That made the experience feel both personal and larger than personal.
For me, this hip replacement journey did not begin with robotics. The earlier tools and adaptations helped me work around the problem. They helped me reach, dress, walk, sit, lie down, and keep going as best I could.
Now, as surgery gets closer, the technology has changed. Instead of helping me compensate for the joint that is failing, it may be helping my surgical team plan how to replace it.
That feels like a very different step.
I still have questions, of course. I want to understand more about how the CT scan is used, how the surgical plan is created, and exactly what role the robotic arm plays in the operating room. I also know that every patient, every surgeon, and every hospital process is different.
But as someone who has spent a long time adapting to pain and limited mobility, I am grateful for anything that adds information, precision, and planning to the process.
From reachers to robotics may sound like a strange path, but in my case, it feels surprisingly accurate.
One tool at a time, I have been making my way toward this surgery.
Some tools helped me get through daily life.
This one may help my surgeon plan the next step.
Note: This post reflects my personal experience as a patient preparing for hip replacement surgery. Although I have a healthcare background, I am writing here from the perspective of a curious patient, not as someone giving medical advice. I am still learning how this technology is used in my own care and will ask more questions as I move through the process.
Future Reading
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. (2022). Robotic Surgical Systems for Orthopedics. Canadian Journal of Health Technologies. This report notes that the ROSA Knee System received Health Canada authorization on September 5, 2019, and that the Mako SmartRobotics System received authorization for use in Canada for partial and total knee replacement and total hip replacement on July 23, 2020.
Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation. (2023). Dartmouth General Hospital first location in Canada to use Mako SmartRobotics for total hip replacement surgery. This article describes Mako’s use of CT-based 3D modelling and reports Dartmouth General’s first total hip replacement using the system in January 2023.
Fraser Health. (2025). Burnaby Hospital Orthopedics team performs first robotic-assisted hip surgery. This article reports Burnaby Hospital’s first Mako robotic-arm assisted hip replacement and describes the use of CT imaging to create a 3D surgical plan.
Health Canada. Regulatory Decision Summary — Mako System. This summary describes the Mako System as including a robotic arm, optical detector, computer, planning laptop, software, and related tools. It also notes that the system uses patient CT data to assist with pre-surgical implant planning and intraoperative tracking.
Johnson & Johnson MedTech / DePuy Synthes. (2022). VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution Canadian Roadshow Features Future of Knee Replacement. This article supports the broader point that Mako is not the only robotic-assisted orthopedic technology being introduced in Canada.
Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub. (2021). QEII Health Sciences Centre second hospital in Canada to receive orthopedic surgical robot. This article describes Mako SmartRobotics as combining CT-based 3D images with haptic technology to help guide planned surgical cuts, and notes that QEII was the second hospital in Canada to receive the system.
Stryker. Mako Total Hip. This manufacturer information explains the Mako Total Hip process, including CT-based 3D planning, implant sizing and positioning, hip length and offset feedback, and robotic-arm assistance.