CORI

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.

Readiness

CORI is internal use only (not for retail) at $600,000-$1,200,000 (analyst estimate), the 1 capability claim on file is all teleoperated-assisted with verified, 1 verified deployment is on file, and no incidents are on record.

Availability

internal-only

Internal use only (not for retail).

see evidence →

Price honesty

analyst-estimate

One price on file: $600,000-$1,200,000 (analyst estimate).

see evidence →

Capability honesty

teleoperated-assisted

1 reviewed claim: teleoperated-assisted, verified.

see evidence →

Real-world use

commercial

Maturity: commercial. 1 verified deployment in the registry.

see evidence →

Safety record

no-incidents

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

What it claims to do

• Assists surgeryteleoperated-assisted· verifiedevidence ↗

Price

• $600,000-$1,200,000analyst estimate · How Much is a Surgical Robot? (2025 Edition) – R2 Surgical ↗ · as of 2025-01-01

Real-world use

• United States2021-10-01

Safety record

No incidents on record. 1 verified deployment on file.

Privacy

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for CORI.

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).

formFactor

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

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)

What does the CORI cost?

CORI costs $600,000-$1,200,000 one-time (analyst estimate).Source: How Much is a Surgical Robot? (2025 Edition) – R2 Surgical

Does the CORI really assists surgery?

Verified at teleoperator-assisted autonomy; not fully autonomous.Source: CORI Surgical System -- Smith+Nephew product page; imageless robotic arm system for total and partial knee replacement; intraoperative bone mapping without pre-op CT; FDA cleared, commercially deployed globally

Where is the CORI being used?

CORI is in use at: United States (2021-10-01).Source: Smith+Nephew: FDA clearance for CORI Surgical System, Oct 2021

Is the CORI safe?

No incidents on record across 1 verified deployment.

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 Watford, England, UK.Source: Smith+Nephew acquires Blue Belt Technologies for $275M (the NAVIO handheld system; Oct 29 2015)

Video

Compare side by side

• CORI vs Hugo RASby Medtronic · surgical

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. CORI Surgical System -- Smith+Nephew product page; imageless robotic arm system for total and partial knee replacement; intraoperative bone mapping without pre-op CT; FDA cleared, commercially deployed globally · https://www.smith-nephew.com/en/products/orthopedics/cori-robotic-system ↗
9. How Much is a Surgical Robot? (2025 Edition) – R2 Surgical · https://r2surgical.com/blogs/news/how-much-is-a-surgical-robot-2025-edition ↗
10. Smith+Nephew: FDA clearance for CORI Surgical System, Oct 2021 · https://www.smith-nephew.com/en-us/news/releases/2021/smith-nephew-receives-fda-clearance-for-cori-surgical-system ↗
11. FDA 510(k) K212047 — CORI Surgical System · https://www.fda.gov/cdrh/510kcfm?acc=K212047 ↗