From the outset, the 4-motion® knee system – in contrast to many other implant systems available on the market – was explicitly designed and approved for patient-specific and anatomical alignment. So far, in addition to the implants, three-dimensional preoperative planning and patient-specific cutting blocks have been planned in order to align the implant anatomically and individually for each patient.

ARTIQO doesn’t think much of standard, mechanical 90/90 degree prosthesis positioning. “The patient’s anatomy must be the benchmark,” Ulrich Bücken, Managing Director of ARTIQO GmbH, is convinced.

Development in coordination with experts and users

A separate market survey and a meeting with experts last fall showed that the modern, consistently anatomical approach of the 4-motion® knee system is state of the art, but that the majority of surgeons prefer two-dimensional surgical planning. There is also patient control: “We naturally see that our users often have to establish an additional workflow when using patient-specific cutting blocks. We want to create an instrument that can be seamlessly integrated into clinical processes without having to compromise on anatomical alignment,” says Ulrich Bücken, describing the reasons for the further development of the instrument.

Full flexibility in alignment

The development project therefore envisages a conventional, sustainable set of instruments that retains the full flexibility of the 4-motion® system: tibial first, femoral first and implantation with and without ligament tension will also be possible with this. The first prototypes of preparations were tested in May. “We found that we have already gone 95% of the way,” says Ulrich Bücken, satisfied with the tests. The development of a second improved prototype, further preparation tests and MDR approval of the instrument extension are now pending. The conventional instruments are expected to be available in the first half of 2025.

After development is before development

At the same time, another development project for the 4-motion® implant system is currently starting – also at the request of experts and users. Ulrich Bücken gives an initial outlook: “We will expand the range of implants and thus the range of indications in order to be able to offer an additional, more stable solution if the posterior cruciate ligament is lost.”