Stryker is working on more applications for its flagship surgical robot, CEO Kevin Lobo said in an Oct. 31 third-quarter earnings call.
Stryker's flagship robot, Mako, is widely used by orthopedic surgeons for hip and knee replacement. In the coming years, Mako will also be used for spine and shoulder surgery.
"We are making good progress with the development of our spine and shoulder applications for Mako," Mr. Lobo said, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha. "We have stopped the Cardan spine robotic project to focus all our energies on Mako and expect that the Mako spine and shoulder launches will occur in a similar time frame."
Mr. Lobo did not say when Mako shoulder and spine would be ready, but he said he "wouldn't expect it next year." He added that progress on the spine application is ahead of schedule, while the shoulder project is a bit behind.
Mr. Lobo said the shoulder application was delayed because the company is working to adapt it with Tornier implants and the Blueprint software.
The devicemaker reported 7.7 percent year-over-year sales growth in the third quarter, according to results posted Oct. 31. Stryker's orthopedics and spine sales grew 4.4 percent year over year.