Could robotic technology really take the place of an actual surgeon?
While the exclusion of human intervention may be considered by some to be the stuff of science-fiction, robotic systems such as the da Vinci robotic surgical system, have been in play for some time.
The benefits of minimally invasive robotic surgery include reduced pain, decreased infection rates and quicker recovery times, all of which have seen more hospital groups and surgeons adopting the technology.
It’s not all plain sailing however. Aside from the cost of the technology, one of the barriers to wide-scale adoption, has been the lack of tactile feedback which makes it difficult for a surgeon to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue.
A new haptic robot revealed last month at the Australasian Simulation Congress in Melbourne is about to change that.
HeroSurg is a collaboration between Deakin’s Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI), Deaken Univerisity School of Medicine and Harvard University.
According to Professor Krishnan of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, who was one of the first surgeons to make use of the da Vinci system and is a collaborator on the project, “Tactile feedback allows a surgeon to differentiate between tissues and to ‘feel’ delicate tissues weakened by infection or inflammation and dissect them more carefully.”
HeroSurg provides this sense of touch through a technology known as haptic feedback. According to Professor Krishnan, this technology will ensure greater accuracy, enabling the use of finer and more delicate suturing in microsurgery, radically improving the experience of robotic technology.
HeroSurg can be used for remote surgeries and has a host of additional features aimed at improving the robotic system experience.The technology is however, still in development and in all likelihood will not be available for the next two to three years.
In the meantime, there are some hospital groups using robotic surgery to great effect. One example is the Apollo Hospitals Group in India, which has been effectively deploying robots to reduce surgery and recovery time for the last 5 years.
The group is a pioneer in the use of robotic surgery, focusing specifically on surgeries related to prostate and bladder cancers, and has implemented the technology in the removal of kidney tumours and rectal cancer surgeries.
According to John T Chandy ,VP-Proton Therapy and Oncology Business Unit at Apollo, robotic surgeries enhance visibility, provide the surgeon with greater flexibility and better accessibility, all of which reduce the time taken to complete each procedure. When coupled with the less invasive nature of the procedure, robotic surgery reduces overall costs for both the hospital and the patient.
Our source article on VB|Profiles indicated the recovery period in an open surgery for prostate cancer is approximately 15 days, compared to one day in a robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery - a reduction of more than 90 percent. It’s hard to argue with the benefits when seen in these terms.
All in all the future of robotic surgery is looking rosy. It won’t be too long before those sci-fi dreams become a reality.
Robotic Surgery in Radical Prostatectomy: A Video Case Study
This is a full case describing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. The patient has had a prior bilateral inguinal hernia repair with mesh, which has been a relative contraindication for robotic prostatectomy. This case was performed in 2014 with the DaVinci S.
Find out more about Haptic Robotics
Press release: Deakin builds world-first robotic surgical system with sense of touch
DigitalTrends.com: Hero Surgery Robot not only performs operations, it lets surgeons feel what it is doing.
All about Robotic Surgery
More about Robotic Surgery
Source Article VB Profiles: Apollo Hospitals leverages robotics to treat its cancer patients
Compiled by Linda Ravenhill, 6 October 2016
While the exclusion of human intervention may be considered by some to be the stuff of science-fiction, robotic systems such as the da Vinci robotic surgical system, have been in play for some time.
The benefits of minimally invasive robotic surgery include reduced pain, decreased infection rates and quicker recovery times, all of which have seen more hospital groups and surgeons adopting the technology.
It’s not all plain sailing however. Aside from the cost of the technology, one of the barriers to wide-scale adoption, has been the lack of tactile feedback which makes it difficult for a surgeon to differentiate between healthy and diseased tissue.
A new haptic robot revealed last month at the Australasian Simulation Congress in Melbourne is about to change that.
HeroSurg is a collaboration between Deakin’s Institute for Intelligent Systems Research and Innovation (IISRI), Deaken Univerisity School of Medicine and Harvard University.
According to Professor Krishnan of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, who was one of the first surgeons to make use of the da Vinci system and is a collaborator on the project, “Tactile feedback allows a surgeon to differentiate between tissues and to ‘feel’ delicate tissues weakened by infection or inflammation and dissect them more carefully.”
HeroSurg provides this sense of touch through a technology known as haptic feedback. According to Professor Krishnan, this technology will ensure greater accuracy, enabling the use of finer and more delicate suturing in microsurgery, radically improving the experience of robotic technology.
HeroSurg can be used for remote surgeries and has a host of additional features aimed at improving the robotic system experience.The technology is however, still in development and in all likelihood will not be available for the next two to three years.
In the meantime, there are some hospital groups using robotic surgery to great effect. One example is the Apollo Hospitals Group in India, which has been effectively deploying robots to reduce surgery and recovery time for the last 5 years.
The group is a pioneer in the use of robotic surgery, focusing specifically on surgeries related to prostate and bladder cancers, and has implemented the technology in the removal of kidney tumours and rectal cancer surgeries.
According to John T Chandy ,VP-Proton Therapy and Oncology Business Unit at Apollo, robotic surgeries enhance visibility, provide the surgeon with greater flexibility and better accessibility, all of which reduce the time taken to complete each procedure. When coupled with the less invasive nature of the procedure, robotic surgery reduces overall costs for both the hospital and the patient.
Our source article on VB|Profiles indicated the recovery period in an open surgery for prostate cancer is approximately 15 days, compared to one day in a robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery - a reduction of more than 90 percent. It’s hard to argue with the benefits when seen in these terms.
All in all the future of robotic surgery is looking rosy. It won’t be too long before those sci-fi dreams become a reality.
Robotic Surgery in Radical Prostatectomy: A Video Case Study
This is a full case describing radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. The patient has had a prior bilateral inguinal hernia repair with mesh, which has been a relative contraindication for robotic prostatectomy. This case was performed in 2014 with the DaVinci S.
Find out more about Haptic Robotics
Press release: Deakin builds world-first robotic surgical system with sense of touch
DigitalTrends.com: Hero Surgery Robot not only performs operations, it lets surgeons feel what it is doing.
All about Robotic Surgery
More about Robotic Surgery
Source Article VB Profiles: Apollo Hospitals leverages robotics to treat its cancer patients
Compiled by Linda Ravenhill, 6 October 2016
