As demand for musculoskeletal care grows, the biggest opportunity may lie in helping more surgeons deliver consistently high-quality procedures.
Health systems are being asked to solve two challenges at once: expand access to orthopaedic care while delivering more consistent outcomes. As more procedures move into ambulatory surgery centers1 and demand for joint reconstruction continues to rise,2 health systems face increasing pressure to improve quality, efficiency, patient-centered care.3
The need is growing. Musculoskeletal disorders affect an estimated 1.7 billion people worldwide, making it the leading cause of disability globally, according to the World Health Organization.4 At the same time, demand for orthopaedic surgeries, such as hip and knee replacement, is projected to climb significantly over the coming decades as the population ages.2,5
Meeting that demand requires more than expanding capacity. It requires making excellent surgery easier to deliver consistently. This is where the combination of surgical technique, enabling technology, clinical evidence and surgeon education becomes increasingly important.
Better techniques create better surgery
Some of the most important advances in joint reconstruction have changed how surgeons operate.
The Direct Anterior Approach (DAA) helped reshape hip arthroplasty.6,7 Kinematic restoration is challenging traditional alignment philosophies in knee replacement by restoring patient-specific anatomy where appropriate.8,9 In shoulder arthroplasty, tissue-sparing approaches are applying the same thinking by preserving key anatomy while maintaining surgical access.10
What’s notable is that these advances pair new surgical techniques with technologies designed specifically to support them.
Take shoulder arthroplasty. Traditional total shoulder replacement typically requires release of the subscapularis tendon to access the joint.10 Solutions like INHANCE INTACT™ Instruments are designed to support a subscapularis-sparing approach, with dedicated instrumentation and personalized preoperative planning to help surgeons perform the technique while preserving the tendon.10-11 Early clinical experience suggests this approach may support earlier mobilization in appropriate patients10, 12-13 while aligning with broader trends toward outpatient care.14
The same philosophy is emerging in knee replacement. DePuy Synthes’ Kinematic Restoration initiative brings together the ATTUNE™ Knee System with the VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Solution to support kinematic alignment techniques. Rather than treating implants, robotics and surgical philosophy as separate innovations, the approach aims to help surgeons personalize alignment, minimize soft tissue releases where appropriate and execute procedures more reproducibly.15, 16, 17
These examples reflect an important shift. Innovation is no longer confined to the implant or the operating room technology. Instead, it is increasingly focused on the procedure itself.
Technology works best when it reinforces surgical practice
Once a procedure has been refined, the next challenge is helping surgeons perform it consistently.
Digital guidance, navigation and data-driven planning are valuable because they provide surgeons with additional information during surgery,18 not because they replace surgical judgment. As procedures become more personalized, technologies that improve precision and reproducibility become increasingly important.19
That is the role platforms such as VELYS™ Digital Surgery are designed to play. By providing real-time intraoperative information, they help surgeons execute their preferred technique more consistently while preserving flexibility and clinical decision-making.20
Technology alone, however, is only part of the equation. Clinical evidence, real-world registry data and surgeon education remain essential to understanding which approaches work, where they work best and how they can be adopted responsibly across different care settings.
Innovation is becoming more integrated
Orthopaedic innovation is becoming less about individual products and more about improving the entire surgical experience.
That means connecting surgical techniques with enabling technologies, evidence generation and education so they reinforce one another. It also reflects a broader shift in how companies such as DePuy Synthes are approaching innovation, working alongside surgeons to develop new procedural approaches while building the instrumentation, digital capabilities and clinical evidence needed to support their adoption.
For healthcare leaders, the measure of innovation is ultimately straightforward: helping more surgeons deliver high-quality surgery with greater consistency, so more patients benefit from the best orthopaedic care available. As procedural complexity grows and care continues to shift to new settings,1 innovations that make excellent surgery more repeatable may have the greatest impact on patients, providers and health systems alike.
Visit the AAHKS 2026 Event Hub for more insight on procedural solutions in action and where to connect with DePuy Synthes for education sessions and hands-on demonstrations.
1Haas DA, Zhang X, Barnes CL, Iorio RR. The national trend in arthroplasty surgery location and the economic impact on surgeons, hospitals and ASCs. J Arthroplasty. 2022;37(8):1448-1451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2022.03.036.
2Dubin JA, Bains SS, Hameed D, et al. Projected volume of primary total joint arthroplasty in the USA from 2019 to 2060. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2024;34(5):2663-2670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2022.03.036.
3Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America. Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2001. https://doi.org/10.17226/10027.
4 World Health Organization. Musculoskeletal health. July 14, 2022. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/musculoskeletal-conditions.
5 Bashinskaya B, Zimmerman RM, Walcott BP, Antoci V. Arthroplasty utilization in the United States is predicted by age-specific population groups. ISRN Orthop. Https://doi.org/2012;2012:185938.
6 Patel NN, Shah JA, Erens GA. Current trends in clinical practice for the direct anterior approach total hip arthroplasty. J Arthroplasty. 2019;34(9):1987-1993.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2019.04.025.
7 Ang JJM, Onggo JR, Stokes CM, Ambikaipalan A. Comparing direct anterior approach versus posterior approach or lateral approach in total hip arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2023;33(7):2773-2792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-023-03528-8.
8 Blackman BW, Burow CA, Macciacchera MP, Hayes EW, Garceau SP. Kinematic and mechanical alignment yield similar outcomes in total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J Arthroplasty. Published online March 19, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2026.01.036.
9 Howell SM, Howell SJ, Kuznik KT, Cohen J, Hull ML. Does a kinematically aligned total knee arthroplasty restore function without failure regardless of alignment category? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2013;471(3):1000-1007. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11999-012-2613-z.
10 Lee S, Sardar H, Horner NS, et al. Subscapularis-sparing approaches in shoulder arthroplasty: a systematic review. J Orthop. 2021;24:165-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jor.2021.02.034.
11 DePuy Synthes. INHANCE INTACT Instruments – Design Rationale. 2025 Windchill 502044549.
12 Daher M, Ghoul A, Fares MY, Abboud J, El Hassan B. Subscapular Sparing Approach for Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies. JSES Reviews, Reports, and Techniques. Published online January 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xrrt.2022.12.007
13 Lafosse L, Schnaser E, Haag M, Primary total shoulder arthroplasty performed entirely thru the rotator interval: Technique and minimum two-year outcomes. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2009; 18; 864-873.
14 O’Donnell EA, Best MJ, Simon JE, et al. Trends and outcomes of outpatient total shoulder arthroplasty after its removal from CMS’s inpatient-only list. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2024;33(4):841-849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jse.2023.07.019.
15 Doan, G.W., et al., Image-Free Robotic-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty Improves Implant Alignment Accuracy: A Cadaveric Study. J Arthroplasty, 2022. 37(4): p. 795-801
16 Alton TB, Severson EP, Ford M, Leslie IJ, Lesko J, Diaz R, et al. Assessment of Accuracy and Early Outcomes During the Adoption Phase of a Novel Image-Free Robotic-Assisted System for Total Knee Arthoplasty. British Orthopaedic Association. Liverpool; 2023.
17 Johnson & Johnson and its affiliates. VELYS™ Robotic-Assisted Solution for Total Knee. Surgical Technique, Femur First Approach (November 2024). Windchill Report 103744585 Rev J.
18 Luan Y, Wang H, Zhang M, et al. Comparison of navigation systems for total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Surg. 2023;10:1112147. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsurg.2023.1112147.
19 Mostafa O, Malik M, Qayum K, et al. Robotic-assisted versus conventional total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis of alignment accuracy and clinical outcomes. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2025;87(2):867-879. https://doi.org/10.1097/MS9.0000000000002919.
20 Agarwal N, To K, McDonnell S, Khan W. Clinical and Radiological Outcomes in Robotic-Assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty; The Journal of Arthroplasty 35 (2020) p. 3393-3409.
Important Information: Prior to use, refer to the instructions for use supplied with the device(s) for indications, contraindications, side effects, warnings and precautions.
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