News
PERTH, WA, October 2024
ArthroLase has joined some of Western Australia’s most progressive biomedical innovators in a
pioneering partnership that aims to foster practical collaborations and training opportunities
between product designers, medical manufacturers, and academic researchers.
PERTH, WA, August 2024
ArthroLase recently hosted Minister Stephen Dawson
and Professor Kevin Pfleger at our
facilities. The visit underscored our shared commitment to Minister Dawson’s vision of
transforming Western Australia into a global hub of invention, investment, innovation, and
impact.
PERTH, WA, July 2024
We are excited to have been mentioned in The Guardian’s recent article on WA’s growing innovation
ecosystem. Certainly, some insightful quotes from our Chief Scientist, Prof. Peter Klinken, and
Dr. Tracey Wilkinson from the WA Life Sciences Innovation Hub.
PERTH, WA, July 2024
ArthroLase is pleased to announce the award of a $479,251 innovation grant from the
Western Australian Government's Future Health Research and Innovation (FHRI) program.
This funding will support the development of our AIRO-x™ technology, a next-generation
bone-sparing orthopaedic implant that is paired with Arthrolase’s robotic-assisted laser
bone shaping technology. The implant is designed to preserve a patient’s heathy bone, and
enhance the bond between a patient’s bone and their new implant.
PERTH, WA, April 2024
ArthroLase, previously known as the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO), is thrilled
to unveil its new name as part of a comprehensive rebranding strategy.
PERTH, WA, Febuary 2024
AIRO has been awarded "Breakthrough Device Designation" by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), a significant milestone that accelerates the development of its High-speed
Intelligent Laser Osteotomy (HAiLO™) system. This advanced technology employs non-contact
laser energy at high speeds, seamlessly integrated with surgical robotics and real-time
intraoperative digital sensing. This integration enables orthopaedic surgeons the ability to use laser
bone shaping technology to achieve unprecedented sub-millimetre accuracy for full and partial knee
replacement procedures.
PERTH, WA, January 2024
We are thrilled to share that Sam Withers, our Senior Mechatronic Engineer and UWA PhD candidate, has
received the Best Paper Award at SPIE PhotonicsWest, San Francisco. His paper, presented at "Optical
Interactions with Tissue and Cells, XXXV" by Norbert Linz and Joel Bixler, 2024 Conference Chair(s), is titled
"Laser Ablation for Precision 3D Bone Shaping: Beyond Channel Cuts."
PERTH, WA, November 2023
"Bone Night," a collaborative event between AIRO and the Forrest Research Foundation (FRF), was
recently held at Forrest Hall. This event highlighted notable advancements in the field of orthopaedic
research and bone health, reflecting ongoing progress in medical technology.
Perth, November 2023
AIRO is pleased to announce our successful triennial ISO 13485 recertification audit, a standard for medical
device quality management systems, conducted by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
Perth, November 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) has initiated its Australian Research Council Linkage Project in Perth.
Collaborating with Professors Stuart Jackson and Alexander Fuerbach from Macquarie University, experts in mid-infra-red
laser technology, the project aims to develop next-generation high-powered fibre lasers.
New York, September 2023
The International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty (ISTA) is set to host Professor Riaz Khan,
co-founder and Chairman of AIRO, as a speaker in its upcoming annual congress. Professor Khan
will share valuable insights on the advanced technique of laser bone shaping for joint arthroplasty.
PERTH, WA, September 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) is pleased to announce the addition of Mr.
Christian Reyboz as a Board Advisor. This appointment further reinforces AIRO's commitment to
innovation in the orthopaedic robotic surgery domain.
PERTH, WA, August 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) was thrilled to mark #NationalScienceWeek alongside
the brilliant Dr James Arvanitakis from Forrest Research Foundation and the newest wave of Forrest Scholars:
Nicholas Lawler, Mingxin Ye, and Georgia Khinsoe.
PERTH, WA, August 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) is pleased to share the appointment of Mr. Peter
Traianou as a Board Advisor. This addition underscores AIRO's ongoing commitment to innovation in the
orthopaedic robotic surgery sector.
PERTH, WA, July 2023
AIRO's Senior Mechatronic Engineer, Sam Withers, has been announced as the recipient of the first
funding round from the National Industry PhD Program, an initiative by the Australian Federal
Government's Department of Education.
PERTH, WA, July 2023
Western Australian innovators have recently received a total of $56,500 in grants via the Capability Building
Program: National Reconstruction Fund - Medical Manufacturing.
PERTH, WA, June 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO), has announced the appointment of Mr. Brian May to
their Industry Advisory Committee. The addition of Mr. May to the committee underscores AIRO's
commitment to continuously drive innovation and excellence in the field of orthopaedics.
PERTH, WA, June 2023
Prof. Riaz Khan, co-founder of AIRO, recently introduced subtractive laser osteotomy for joint arthroplasty
during a keynote speech at the Practical Course in Orthopaedics in Toulouse, France.
PERTH, WA, May 2023
On Tuesday 9th May, the Western Australian Biomedical and Health Innovation Showcase,
a satellite event of the WAHTN’s Science on the Swan, was held at Council House in the City of Perth.
AIRO's Co-founder, Managing Director, and CEO Associate Professor Brett Robertson was in attendance to discuss the company's latest advancements in robotic-assisted laser joint resurfacing.
PERTH, WA, May 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO), recently took part in an engaging and informative session,
titled "A SME's Guide to Good Manufacturing", featuring insights from their Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Richard Chipper.
The event, hosted by Deloitte on Tuesday the 2nd of May, attracted a large and diverse audience eager to learn about the critical
role of Good Manufacturing Practice and ISO 13485 accreditation in the medical device industry.
PERTH, WA, April 2023
For 2023/24, the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) has partnered with the University of Western Australia to appoint Mr. Jake Lorkin as a CEEDWA Scholar.
Jake is a final year Honours student in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with a passion for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
PERTH, WA, March 2023
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) has achieved a major advancement
in improving its Directed Energy Osteotomy (DEO™) system. Following a successful system upgrade,
the AIRO team has accomplished a significant 52% increase in bone ablation efficiency.
PERTH, WA, January 2023
To help develop the workforce for Western Australia’s (WA) burgeoning MedTech industry, AIRO has
announced the commencement of its 2023 intern program. This initiative provides the opportunity for students
in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science to gain real-world experience working with some
of the best minds in the field.
PERTH, WA, December 2022
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded an
Innovation Connections grant of $50,000 from the AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Programme. This
funding will be instrumental in optimising the process for AIRO's proprietary High-speed Intelligent
Laser Osteotomy (HAiLO™) system's directed energy osteotomy (DEO™) parameters.
PERTH, WA, November 2022
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) is committed to helping
Western Australia become a world leader in the hugely important fields of
Medical Technology and Pharmaceutics (MTP). We are very pleased to announce that
the next batch of top local engineering talent has joined AIRO.
PERTH, WA, September 2022
We’re proud to announce that the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics
(AIRO) has again been recognised globally for the quality of its medical device
manufacturing following a successful audit of its ISO 13485 certification by the British
Standards Institution (BSI).
PERTH, WA, April 2022
Perth-based Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO)
and its university partners have secured an impressive funding package from the Australian Research Council (ARC).
PERTH, WA, January 2022
It’s an achievement that had the eyes of the medical world turning to Perth Western Australia.
In December 2021 the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) successfully completed
a world-first human cadaver application of its AIROscan™ technology.
PERTH, WA, December 2021
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) has always been passionate about
helping Australia become a world leader in the hugely important fields of Medical Technology and Pharmaceutics (MTP).
So we’re excited to announce that the next batch of top local talent is being cultivated in the 2022 AIRO Intern Program.
PERTH, WA, November 2021
Anywhere in the world you go, manufacturers of medical devices agree there is one
measure of quality they aspire to above all others: ISO 13485.
Which is why we’re proud to announce that the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO)
had its ISO 13485 certification reassessed by the British Standards Institution (BSI),
the world’s leading accreditor of quality management systems, and has again been recognised
internationally for the quality of its medical device manufacturing.
PERTH, WA, August 2021
At the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO), we believe that the more our people succeed,
the more our company will succeed in bringing real change to the world.
Which is why we’re so proud to announce that local surgeon scientist and orthopaedic training registrar
Dr Rajitha Gunaratne has been awarded his PhD for his work with AIRO. Raj’s thesis entitled
‘Laser Osteotomy And Optical Sensing For Advanced Robotic Joint Tissue Surgery’ was awarded the honour
recently by the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Curtin University.
PERTH, WA, July 2021
In the world of tertiary studies, the CEED Scholarship is a big deal.
It stands for Cooperative Education for Enterprise Development (CEED)
and is a formal program designed to link the skills and ambitions of
university students with the research and development needs of progressive
organisations in the wider WA community.
PERTH, WA, June 2021
Anyone who’s visited the headquarters of the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) will know - we support young people.
Especially bright young people with a genuine desire to make the world a better place.
Which is why we were so pleased in June 2021 when the successful completion of AusIndustry’s Accelerating Commercialisation Grant
secured for AIRO enough support to employ another awesome grad student, Computer Systems Engineer, Mr Ryan Breuer.
PERTH, WA, November 2020
It’s only three letters and five numbers, but to the dedicated team at the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO), it means the world. Literally.
It’s called the ISO 13485 certification and it’s decided by the British Standards Institution (BSI Group),
the world’s premier accreditor of quality management systems (QMS). After an extensive auditing process, AIRO has been awarded this endorsement
for the quality of its medical device systems.
Friedrich Schiller University, Germany, March 2020
Here at the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO), we’re proud of our team, even when they leave the team!
Which is why we’re so happy to share the news that our very first intern, M.Sc. Johannes Stock, has been awarded his
Ph.D. for his thesis titled ‘Holistic Simulation Of Optical Systems’ from the Institute of Applied Physics at the
Friedrich Schiller University in Jena Germany. Johannes joined AIRO as an intern in September 2017.
PERTH, WA, January 2020
The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research is doing incredible work to rid the world of some of its most devastating diseases.
We couldn’t think of a more fitting place for the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) to establish its new medical laser laboratory.
This new world class facility is on Level 4 of the Harry Perkins Institute and provides a bio-secure testing environment (PC2) for the
AIRO engineering team to pursue their med-tech development.
PERTH, WA, January 2019
The problem we’re trying to solve is a big one. Every year in Australia alone, more than 120,000 people have a joint replaced using old fashioned technology.
Surgeons are still relying on hand-held bone-cutting saws or hand-guided battery-powered tools that haven’t changed in decades.
The imprecision that results leads to an unfortunate outcome for many patients, including long recovery times, remedial operations and long-term dissatisfaction.
PERTH, WA, October 2018
In a move that brought the reality of robot-assisted laser surgery one step closer,
researchers from a leading university in Ulm, Germany and
the Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics (AIRO) joined forces to share ideas and advice.
PERTH, WA, April 2017
It’s an achievement that saw medics around the world take note.
The Australian Institute of Robotic Orthopaedics Pty Ltd (AIRO) has successfully developed
and tested a prototype robot-assisted bone burr system that allows active, navigated milling
of bone during joint replacement surgery (arthroplasty).
