Robotic arthroplasty system

1. A method of preparing a patient's femur and tibia for receiving one or more surgical implants in an arthroplasty procedure, the method comprising:

placing navigation members into engagement with the patient's femur and tibia such that reflective ends of the navigation members are disposed outside the patient's body;

operating a robotic mechanism, the robotic mechanism connected with a computer through a robotic arm interface and configured to operate without being coupled to an operating table;

sensing movement of the reflective ends of the navigation members with an optical sensing system connected with the computer and robotic mechanism;

determining the relative positions of the femur and the tibia with the optical sensing system;

displaying an image of the location on the femur or tibia where the robotic mechanism is being utilized on the patient on a display visible to a surgeon operating the robotic mechanism;

transmitting force from a force transmitting member of the robotic mechanism to body tissue, wherein the force transmitting member is a cutting tool and at least one of the femur and tibia are resected with the cutting tool and wherein the robotic mechanism limits movement of the cutting tool during the resection.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of operating a robot mechanism is performed by manually moving the robotic mechanism.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of operating a robot mechanism is performed automatically by providing instructions to the robotic arm interface.

4. A method of preparing a patient's femur and tibia for receiving one or more surgical implants in an arthroplasty procedure, the method comprising:

placing navigation members into engagement with the patient's femur and tibia such that reflective ends of the navigation members are disposed outside the patient's body;

manually operating a robotic mechanism, the robotic mechanism connected with a computer through a robotic arm interface;

sensing movement of the reflective ends of the navigation members with an optical sensing system connected with the computer and robotic mechanism;

determining the relative positions of the femur and the tibia with the optical sensing system;

displaying an image of the location on the femur or tibia where the robotic mechanism is being utilized on the patient on a display visible to a surgeon operating the robotic mechanism; and

resecting at least one of the femur and tibia with a cutting tool coupled to the robotic mechanism.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of displaying an image includes displaying a three-dimensional image.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein, during the resecting step, the robotic mechanism receives inputs that control movement of the cutting tool.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the robotic mechanism is configured to control resection without being coupled to an operating table.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising the steps of providing a surgical implant and displaying the position of the surgical implant in the patient's body.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of positioning a screw in the patient's femur or tibia.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of using manual effort to position the one or more surgical implants relative to bone.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising the step of determining the stability of the knee joint in which the arthroplasty procedure is performed.

12. A method of preparing a patient's body for receiving a surgical implant utilizing a robotic mechanism, the method comprising:

placing navigation members into engagement with one or more tissues of the patient's body such that reflective ends of the navigation members are disposed outside the patient's body;

manually operating a robotic mechanism, the robotic mechanism connected with a computer through a robotic arm interface;

sensing movement of the reflective ends of the navigation members with an optical sensing system connected with the computer and robotic arm interface;

determining the relative positions of tissues in the patient's body with the optical sensing system;

displaying an image of the location where the robotic mechanism is being utilized on the patient on a display visible to a surgeon operating the robotic mechanism;

transmitting force from a force transmitting member of the robotic mechanism to body tissue; and

indicating the position of the force transmitting member relative to the body tissue with a position sensor connected with the force transmitting member and the computer.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the image provided on the display is a three-dimensional image.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the force transmitting member further comprises a cutting tool.

15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the surgical procedure is a knee arthroplasty procedure.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising determining the stability of a knee joint in which the knee arthroplasty procedure is performed.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising the step of resecting a bone during the knee arthroplasty procedure, wherein the robotic mechanism limits movement of the cutting tool during the step of resecting a bone.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein, during the step of resecting, one of the femur and the tibia are resected and the surgical implant is a knee prosthesis.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the robotic mechanism is configured to control resection without being coupled to an operating table.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising the step of positioning a fastener in the patient's body.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the fastener comprises a screw.

22. The method of claim 20 , further comprising the step of providing a view on the display of the implant being positioned in the desired manner in the patient's body.

23. A robotic surgical system comprising:

a robotic mechanism having a force transmitting member, the robotic mechanism configured to perform a surgical procedure without being coupled to an operating table;

a computer connected with the robotic mechanism;

an optical sensing system connected with the computer; and

at least one navigation member configured to couple to one or more tissues of a patient, wherein at least one navigation member has a reflective end visible to the optical sensing system, wherein the optical system is configured to determine location information of a bone relative to tissue based on the at least one navigation member; and

a tool suitable for use in resecting at least a portion of a first bone of a joint in a patient and at least a portion of a second bone of the joint in the patient, wherein at least one of the computer and the robotic mechanism is configured to control movement of the tool during resection of at least one of the first and second bones of the joint in preparation for receipt of an arthroplasty component.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein the computer is configured to provide a resistance indication to a user of the system.

25. The system of claim 23 , further comprising a position sensor connected with the force transmitting member and the computer, the position sensor configured to provide a position of the force transmitting member.

26. The system of claim 23 , wherein the robotic mechanism is configured to check stability of the joint in at least one of flexion, extension, and rotation.

27. The system of claim 23 , further comprising a display visible to the operating surgeon and providing an image of the location where the robotic mechanism is being utilized in the performance of a surgical procedure on the patient.

28. The system of claim 23 , wherein the robotic mechanism is operable to tension an anchor secured to body tissue with a predetermined force.

29. The system of claim 28 , wherein the arthroplasty component includes a portion of a knee replacement.

30. The system of claim 29 , further comprising a screw configured to couple to one or more tissues of the patient.