WELLINGTON A New Zealand surgeon has demonstrated implanting a revolutionary artificial knee to 52 orthopedic specialists from all over Asia, DPA reported on Friday.

Mark Clatworthy performed his eighth operation using the new joint at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital on Thursday with the procedure beamed to the visiting surgeons from 10 Asian countries in the academic lecture theater, the ***New Zealand Herald*** reported.

Depuy, a subsidiary of medical specialists Johnson & Johnson, which developed the new knee brought the specialists to New Zealand to view the procedure because there are only three sets of the required surgical equipment throughout Asia, the newspaper said.

The revolutionary joint, released worldwide a month ago, has a rotational plastic bearing that sits between three metal components which are screwed into the top of the shin bone, the bottom of the thigh bone and the back of the kneebone.

When implanted, the knee can turn and pivot like a natural joint when the leg is moved, the ***Herald*** said.

About 200 patients at Middlemore Hospital will get the new knees over the next two years in a study allowing comparison with the older fixed bearing joints which are still widely used.

Clatworthy's latest patient will provide a perfect example. She already has a fixed joint in her other leg.

"It will certainly be interesting to watch the differences," he told the ***Herald***. "We know the concept sounds a lot better and in theory should offer better, more natural, movement as well as last longer, but only time will be able to tell us that for certain."