# CORI

Manufacturer: [Smith+Nephew](/companies/smith-nephew)  
Category: surgical

## Media

- **Video (primary-source)**: [Smith+Nephew CORI Surgical System](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp-62kzjFDY). 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. Not autonomous. FDA 510(k)-cleared for partial and total knee arthroplasty bone preparation, and for revision knee. _(via Smith+Nephew)_

_Each clip and image on this page carries a provenance label. [About our media provenance](/consumer#media-provenance)._

## Summary

Smith+Nephew's CORI Surgical System is a compact, surgeon-controlled handheld robotics platform for orthopedic knee surgery and the handheld, imageless archetype of the orthopedic sub-cohort. It is imageless (no pre-operative 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 and exposure are robotically controlled to the surgical plan, with optical navigation. Its small footprint positions it for ambulatory surgery centers and outpatient ORs. It is AI-augmented but surgeon-controlled, not autonomous. A critical verified-vs-claimed distinction aggregators routinely blur: CORI's robotic burring is cleared for the knee only (total, partial/unicompartmental, and revision knee); its hip capability is navigation-only (RI.HIP NAVIGATION, cleared January 2022), not robotic burring. Made by Smith+Nephew (LSE: SN; NYSE: SNN). As enterprise B2B surgical equipment, there is no consumer price.

## Top line

> CORI is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, the model has no verified field deployments in the registry, and no incidents are on record.

## Readiness

- **Availability** (internal-only): Internal use only (not for retail).
- **Price honesty** (no-price): No price points on file for CORI.
- **Capability honesty** (no-claims): No reviewed capability claims on file for CORI.
- **Real-world use** (commercial): Maturity: commercial. No verified deployments in the registry.
- **Safety record** (no-incidents): No incidents on record. No verified deployments either.

## What it claims to do

_No reviewed capability claims on file._

## Price

_No reviewed price points on file._

## Real-world use

_No verified deployments on file for CORI._

## Safety record

_No incidents on record. No verified deployments either, so the absence is uninformative._

## Privacy

_No privacy practices disclosed or on file for CORI._

## Specs

- **notes**: [{"label":"Corporate / lineage (verified)","value":"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)."},{"label":"AI-as-primary boundary (the cohort's editorial point)","value":"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."},{"label":"Cleared scope + the hip honesty point (cap-flag)","value":"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."},{"label":"Sub-cohort triangle (orthopedic, within surgical)","value":"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).
- **formFactor**: surgical (HANDHELD robotics-assisted orthopedic knee surgery; surgeon-controlled + AI-augmented, NOT autonomous; imageless / no pre-op CT)

## What's under the hood

_No brain on file for CORI._

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the CORI actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Smith+Nephew.

_Source: [Smith+Nephew acquires Blue Belt Technologies for $275M (the NAVIO handheld system; Oct 29 2015)](https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2015/10/29/20151029-acquisition-of-blue-belt-technologies)._

### What does the CORI cost?

Not announced.

### Where is the CORI being used?

No verified field deployments on record.

### Is the CORI safe?

No incidents on record, but with no verified field deployments either, the absence is uninformative.

### How does the CORI handle privacy?

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for CORI.

### Who makes the CORI?

CORI is made by Smith+Nephew, based in United Kingdom.

_Source: [Smith+Nephew acquires Blue Belt Technologies for $275M (the NAVIO handheld system; Oct 29 2015)](https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2015/10/29/20151029-acquisition-of-blue-belt-technologies)._

## Manufacturer

- [Smith+Nephew (https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2015/10/29/20151029-acquisition-of-blue-belt-technologies)](https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2015/10/29/20151029-acquisition-of-blue-belt-technologies)

## Compared to

- [Hugo RAS](/consumer/models/medtronic-hugo)

## Sources

1. [Smith+Nephew acquires Blue Belt Technologies for $275M (the NAVIO handheld system; Oct 29 2015)](https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2015/10/29/20151029-acquisition-of-blue-belt-technologies)
2. [Smith+Nephew launches Real Intelligence and the CORI Surgical System (NAVIO successor; Jul 14 2020)](https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2020/07/14/20200714-sn-launches-real-intelligence-and-cori-surgical-system)
3. [Smith+Nephew expands CORI into total hip with RI.HIP NAVIGATION (Jan 26 2022; NAVIGATION-only, not robotic burring)](https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/news/2022/01/26/20220126-expands-next-generation-handheld-robotic-assisted-cori-surgical-system-into-total-hip)
4. [Smith+Nephew first to market with a revision-knee indication on a robotics platform (Sep 26 2022)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/smithnephew-first-to-market-with-revision-knee-indication-on-robotics-platform-301632322.html)
5. [RCT: robotic-assisted TKA with NAVIO/CORI vs manual (Medicina 2023; better rotational alignment, lower blood loss)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36837438/)
6. [CT-free CORI vs Brainlab Knee3 in TKA (Journal of Robotic Surgery, 2026; 100 patients)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11701-026-03198-8)
7. [Smith & Nephew Form 6-K (Blue Belt Technologies acquisition filing)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000845982/000119163815001277/sn201510296k.htm)
8. [Smith+Nephew official YouTube (@SmithNephewPLC), embedded under standard YouTube embed terms. oEmbed author_url verified 2026-06.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp-62kzjFDY) · 2026-06-04

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