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Robot model

CORI

The CORI Surgical System is Smith+Nephew's compact, surgeon-controlled handheld robotics platform for orthopedic knee surgery, recorded in the surgical form…

Manufacturer
Smith+Nephew
Form factor
surgical
Maturity
commercial
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
1

Overview

The CORI Surgical System is Smith+Nephew's compact, surgeon-controlled handheld robotics platform for orthopedic knee surgery, recorded in the surgical form factor as the handheld, imageless, smaller-footprint archetype of the orthopedic sub-cohort. Unlike Stryker's Mako, which uses a pre-operative CT scan and a large robotic arm, CORI is imageless: the surgeon paints the joint surface intra-operatively to build a three-dimensional bone model, then uses a handheld robotic bur whose cutting speed and exposure are robotically controlled to the surgical plan, with optical navigation via a passive infrared camera that Smith+Nephew states is four times faster with twice the cutting volume of the prior NAVIO system. Because the surgeon physically holds and moves the tool throughout while the software does the imageless mapping, planning, and intra-operative tracking that governs the bur, CORI is AI-augmented surgeon-controlled assistance and not autonomous, and it is in scope as a surgical robot. Made by Smith+Nephew, listed as SN in London and SNN in New York, the system descends from Smith+Nephew's October 2015 acquisition of Blue Belt Technologies for 275 million dollars, whose NAVIO handheld system evolved into CORI at its July 14, 2020 launch alongside the Real Intelligence platform. Its robotic-cutting scope is cleared for total, partial or unicompartmental, and revision knee, with revision knee a 2022 first-to-market indication on a robotics platform; its hip capability is navigation only, through RI.HIP NAVIGATION cleared in January 2022, and is not robotic burring, a distinction several secondary sources blur. The platform is positioned for ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient operating rooms, and no CORI-specific installed-base or procedure-volume figure is asserted here because none was verified against Smith+Nephew investor disclosure.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
commercial(Commercially deployed with revenue-generating operations.)
Verified deployments
1 deployment on file
Sources on file
7 sources, view all

Key facts

Form factor

Handheld surgical robotics platform

Autonomy level

AI-augmented, surgeon-controlled, not autonomous

Imaging

Imageless (no pre-op CT or MRI)

Cleared knee scope

Total, partial/unicompartmental, and revision knee

Hip capability

Navigation only (RI.HIP NAVIGATION, cleared Jan 2022), not robotic burring

Camera speed

4x faster than NAVIO predecessor

Cutting volume

2x cutting volume vs NAVIO predecessor

Launch date

July 14, 2020

Acquisition

Blue Belt Technologies acquired Oct 29, 2015 for $275M

Specs

Notes

Corporate / lineage (verified): Smith+Nephew plc (LSE: SN; NYSE: SNN; UK). Acquired Blue Belt Technologies on Oct 29 2015 for $275M (closed Jan 2016); Blue Belt's flagship was the NAVIO handheld system (CT-free navigation + handheld robotic bone-shaping for partial knee). NAVIO evolved into CORI, launched Jul 14 2020 (with the 'Real Intelligence' platform). Lineage: Blue Belt/NAVIO (2015) -> CORI (2020)., AI-as-primary boundary (the cohort's editorial point): AI-AUGMENTED, SURGEON-CONTROLLED HANDHELD assistance - NOT autonomous. Software does imageless 3D mapping, plan generation, and intra-op tracking that robotically governs the bur's speed/exposure to keep cutting within the surgeon-defined plan; the surgeon physically holds and moves the tool throughout. In-scope as a surgical robot., Cleared scope + the hip honesty point (cap-flag): Robotic cutting is cleared for total + partial + revision knee (revision-knee a 2022 first-to-market). HIP is NAVIGATION-ONLY (RI.HIP NAVIGATION, 2022) - computer-guided, NOT robotic burring; several secondary sources blur this, so do NOT frame CORI hip as robotic. Exact 510(k) K-numbers + the initial 2020 clearance date were not pinned to the FDA database this pass (indications verified at press-release level). No CORI-specific installed-base/procedure-volume figure verified against S+N IR; the '60% knee / 34% hip' stat circulating is a Stryker/Mako figure, NOT CORI., Sub-cohort triangle (orthopedic, within surgical): Handheld-format, imageless, smaller-footprint commercial archetype (ASC/outpatient OR integration) - the technical counterpoint to Mako's large CT-based robotic arm. Orthopedic triangle: Mako (large-footprint, CT-based, broad scope) vs CORI (handheld, imageless, knee) vs Zimmer Biomet ROSA (mid-size, knee/hip/brain).

Specs

CORI Surgical System: compact, surgeon-controlled HANDHELD robotics platform for orthopedic knee surgery. IMAGELESS (no pre-op CT or MRI): the surgeon paints the joint surface intra-operatively to build a 3D bone model, then uses a handheld robotic BUR whose cutting speed/exposure is robotically controlled to the surgical plan, with optical navigation via a passive infrared camera (Smith+Nephew states 4x faster camera + 2x cutting volume vs the NAVIO predecessor). Small-footprint / portable, positioned for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and outpatient ORs. Cleared knee scope: total + partial/unicompartmental + revision knee. Hip is NAVIGATION-ONLY (RI.HIP NAVIGATION, cleared Jan 2022), NOT robotic burring. Made by Smith+Nephew (LSE: SN; NYSE: SNN).

Form Factor

surgical (HANDHELD robotics-assisted orthopedic knee surgery; surgeon-controlled + AI-augmented, NOT autonomous; imageless / no pre-op CT)

Visualization

optical navigation via a passive infrared camera

Procedure types

total, partial or unicompartmental, and revision knee

Data & sources

Company filings

1

Research

1

Web sources

5

7 sources backing this record.View all →

Availability and pricing

Availability
Not sold (internal use)
Price
$600K to $1.2M (analyst estimate)as of 2025-01-01
Units in field
Not disclosed
Sales model
Not disclosed
Lead time
Not disclosed

Pricing

One-time purchase

$600,000 - $1,200,000 USDanalyst estimateas of 2025-01-01

Source: How Much is a Surgical Robot? (2025 Edition) – R2 Surgical

Price status: actual-sale-price = real published price at time of sale; manufacturer-target = vendor target, not yet realized; analyst-estimate = third-party projection, not a vendor figure; not-announced = no price on record.

Prices verified as of Jan 1, 2025

Deployments (1)

  • The CORI Surgical System received FDA 510(k) clearance (K212047) in October 2021 for use in the United States.

CORI on the deployment map

Where CORI is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Deployment-verified media (1)

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Smith+Nephew

Smith+Nephew's overview of its CORI handheld robotic surgery system (distinct from the older NAVIO). The surgeon holds and moves the tool; robotic control auto-stops the burr outside the planned zone.

From deployment: United States

Regulatory filings (1)

Safety record

No incidents on record for CORI.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (7)

  1. https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2015/10/29/20151029-acquisition-of-blue-belt-technologies
  2. https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2020/07/14/20200714-sn-launches-real-intelligence-and-cori-surgical-system
  3. https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2022/01/26/20220126-expands-next-generation-handheld-robotic-assisted-cori-surgical-system-into-total-hip
  4. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smithnephew-first-to-market-with-revision-knee-indication-on-robotics-platform-301632322.html
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36837438/
  6. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11701-026-03198-8
  7. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000845982/000119163815001277/sn201510296k.htm

Compare CORI

Common questions

What is CORI?
The CORI Surgical System is Smith+Nephew's compact, surgeon-controlled handheld robotics platform for orthopedic knee surgery, recorded in the surgical form factor as the handheld, imageless, smaller-footprint archetype of the orthopedic sub-cohort. Unlike Stryker's Mako, which uses a pre-operative CT scan and a large robotic arm, CORI is imageless: the surgeon paints the joint surface intra-operatively to build a three-dimensional bone model, then uses a handheld robotic bur whose cutting speed and exposure are robotically controlled to the surgical plan, with optical navigation via a passive infrared camera that Smith+Nephew states is four times faster with twice the cutting volume of the prior NAVIO system. Because the surgeon physically holds and moves the tool throughout while the software does the imageless mapping, planning, and intra-operative tracking that governs the bur, CORI is AI-augmented surgeon-controlled assistance and not autonomous, and it is in scope as a surgical robot. Made by Smith+Nephew, listed as SN in London and SNN in New York, the system descends from Smith+Nephew's October 2015 acquisition of Blue Belt Technologies for 275 million dollars, whose NAVIO handheld system evolved into CORI at its July 14, 2020 launch alongside the Real Intelligence platform. Its robotic-cutting scope is cleared for total, partial or unicompartmental, and revision knee, with revision knee a 2022 first-to-market indication on a robotics platform; its hip capability is navigation only, through RI.HIP NAVIGATION cleared in January 2022, and is not robotic burring, a distinction several secondary sources blur. The platform is positioned for ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient operating rooms, and no CORI-specific installed-base or procedure-volume figure is asserted here because none was verified against Smith+Nephew investor disclosure.
How much does CORI cost?
CORI is listed at $600,000 to $1,200,000 on the DEPLOY registry. This is an analyst estimate, not an official price.
Is CORI actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. CORI is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
Is CORI autonomous or teleoperated?
Not verified as fully autonomous. CORI's capabilities on the DEPLOY registry are recorded as teleoperated-assisted, demonstrated-only, or vendor claims (Assists surgery), not independently confirmed to run without a human in the loop.
Who makes CORI?
CORI is made by Smith+Nephew, based in Watford, England, UK, founded in 1856.
Methodology: Aggregator drift detected · 7 sources (2 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12

Verification posture

Aggregator drift detected

Cap-flag required

Review state

Drift-flagged

Last reviewed 2026-07-12

1 anchored drift pattern(s); see cap_flags

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: commercial

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: surgical

Sources by quality tier

5
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
primary-academic-peer-reviewed
Peer-reviewed clinical / academic
1
primary-sec-filing
SEC filing

Canonical worked example pair

Surgical orthopedic robot sub-cohort triangle

This entity is the knee-robotic / hip-navigation-only anchor on within-cohort-verified-vs-claimed-pair.

Pairs with: stryker-mako, zimmer-biomet-rosa

Cap flags

  • Claim: Smith+Nephew CORI's hip capability is robotic

    Honest status: CORI's hip capability is navigation-only, not robotic. Only knee is robotic on CORI. Hip-as-robotic claims are aggregator capability overstating.

    CORI hip is navigation-only. Only knee is robotic on CORI.

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for CORI.

Recent coverage

CORI in third-party press