Spinal surgery remains a very complex and complex procedure, given its link to the vital organs to generate movement and function via the nervous and vascular systems, and it requires digital innovations and the development of new operating theatre technologies. Robotics is also being used to treat the disabilities associated with an ageing population. The integration of surgical instruments equipped with sensors, real-time multimodal data processing algorithms and robotic control schemes incorporating this data is more than necessary to improve quality and personalise the pre-, intra- and post-operative phases for a better experience for both the patient and the surgical team.

This digital transformation of the operating theatre can only be achieved with the complementary expertise of academics and industry. This area of research is part of the remit of the GRC-33 Clinical Research Group “Robotics and Surgical Innovation” at Sorbonne University, the University Institute of Spinal Surgery (IUCR) and the BOPA “Augmented Operating Theatre” Chair at the APHP.

Georges Charpak Human Biomechanics Institute is a joint team of ARTS ET MÉTIERS Paris-Tech and the University of Paris XIII. It is located on the Paris campus of ARTS ET MÉTIERS Paris-Tech.

The institute provides an ideal forum for research between clinicians and engineers into human biomechanics, with a particular focus on understanding the mechanisms of damage to the neuro-musculo-skeletal system and contributing to the design and improvement of prevention, diagnosis and treatment methods.

The Myology Research Centre is a multi-disciplinary research centre focusing on muscle and its pathologies, bringing together international experts in this field. It is located at the heart of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Group and the Sorbonne University Faculty of Medicine. The Centre is a Joint Health Research Unit (UMRS 974) with two supervisory bodies:

• Sorbonne University (SU)
• and the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM).

It also has a special partnership with the Association Institut de Myologie (AIM).

LIP6 is a computer science research laboratory dedicated to modelling and solving fundamental application-driven problems, as well as implementing and validating solutions through academic and industrial partnerships.

ISIR is under the joint supervision of Sorbonne University and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). The French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) also supervises the AGATHE team’s medical research. ISIR brings together multidisciplinary teams that are helping to anticipate the profound changes that robots and artificial intelligence systems will bring to our societies, by working on the autonomy of machines and their ability to interact with human beings.

• the Spina Bifida vertebral anomalies network (Spin@)
• the National Centre for Limb Malformations at the Saint Maurice Hospitals (CEREFAM)

• The European Reference Network for Neuromuscular Diseases (ERN EURO-NMD) coordinated by Dr Teresinha Evangelista at La Pitié Salpêtrière
• the ITHACA European Reference Network for congenital malformations and rare intellectual disabilities (ERN EURO-SBoD), whose SBoD WP [SPINA BIFIDA other Dysraphisms] is co-chaired by Prof. Jean-Marie Jouannic.