Zimmer Biomet outlines surgeon-guided autonomy for intelligent surgery
Zimmer Biomet has introduced Surgeon-Guided Autonomy, a technology category for intelligent orthopedic surgery that links planning, surgical execution and recovery in a closed-loop framework. The company says the approach is designed to transfer work to intelligent systems while keeping surgeons’ expertise, judgment and control at the center of the operating room.
- Zimmer Biomet introduced Surgeon-Guided Autonomy for intelligent orthopedic surgery.
- Its framework is called Predict. Perform. Recover.
- The proposed loop links planning, execution and recovery data.
- The company says surgeons remain in command and control.
- Zimmer Biomet says the framework is not a product currently available for sale.
A framework built around three stages
Zimmer Biomet presented the category on Nov. 6, 2026, alongside the framework “Predict. Perform. Recover.” The introduction is taking place during the company’s sponsored symposium, “The Future Is Now, From Kinematic Alignment to Intelligent Surgery,” at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.
In the company’s description, Predict involves analyzing patient-specific data, simulating surgical options and recommending personalized plans aligned with the surgeon’s goals and patient expectations. Perform involves translating the surgeon’s plan into autonomous execution of defined surgical tasks, with continuous monitoring and surgeon oversight. Recover involves analyzing recovery data, identifying patients who are deviating from expected progress and delivering actionable insights to the care team.
Zimmer Biomet says the three moments are intended to form a continuous learning loop. Information from recovery can inform future surgical planning, rather than leaving planning, surgery and recovery as separate systems.
The surgeon remains in command
The company says technology meeting its definition of Surgeon-Guided Autonomy should understand surgeon intent, execute on the surgeon’s behalf, keep the surgeon in command and control, and connect surgical results with patient recovery.
“Built on a simple principle: transfer surgeon burden, not control,” the company’s vision is aimed at shifting more cognitive and physical work to intelligent systems without removing the surgeon from key decisions. Zimmer Biomet also introduced the awareness campaign Surgeon-Guided AutonoMe, whose spelling emphasizes its focus on giving surgeons more autonomy, rather than autonomy away from surgeons.
“This is bigger than any single robotic platform,” said Jonathan Vigdorchik, M.D., Zimmer Biomet’s Chief Science, Technology and Medical Affairs Officer. He described the vision as connecting intelligence, robotics and data across the care journey “to empower surgeons, never replace them.”
A category, not a product launch
Zimmer Biomet says Surgeon-Guided Autonomy and Surgeon-Guided AutonoMe describe a technology category and an aspirational framework, not a product. The company also states that intelligent surgical systems in development are forward-looking and do not describe products currently available for sale.
At booth #608, visitors can explore the framework alongside Zimmer Biomet’s hip and knee portfolio, including ROSA Knee with OptimiZe, TMINI Miniature Robotic System, OrthoGrid HipAI, ZB Edge Analytics, mymobility Care Management Platform, Persona IQ, Persona, Z1 and G7 Systems.
For users and healthcare organizations, the announcement sets out Zimmer Biomet’s intended direction: connecting existing digital and robotic technologies with future systems across the full care journey. The company’s stated goal is to make technology take on more of the burden while preserving surgeon oversight, though the announcement does not present Surgeon-Guided Autonomy as a currently available product.
