Robotic Blogs

The system consists of three main components: the surgeon’s viewing and control console, the surgical cart, which consists of the robotic arm that can position and maneuver detachable surgical EndoWrist instruments, and the video tower that consists of the video camera and processing units.

The pencil sized instruments which are attached to the robotics arms, together with computer enhanced mechanical wrists are being designed for the purpose of providing dexterity movements of the human surgeon’s forearm and wrist during operation site through entry ports which are less than 1 cm. Thus, with the precision and accuracy of surgical movements, it allows surgeon to enter the chest through keyhole incisions and performed closed chest, heart and lung surgery. The robot’s mechanical wrists can bend forth and backward, side to side, and rotate in a full circular motion, while holding the surgical tools, thus it provides a greater range of motion than which is not made possible with human beings. The wrists imitate the motions which are made by the surgeon who sits at the console outside the operation room. He will monitor the whole surgical operation through an eyepiece that provides high resolution, multi color, magnified and three dimension images of the surgical site which is provided by the endoscope. The surgeon will move along his hands which are attached to the controls of the robotic system, and the robotic hands will follow. The built in computer for this system will enhance the surgeon's hand movement with more precision and less tremors which is considered an important factor in performing successful delicate bypass and valve surgery.

This robotic surgery technology has the potential to impact the practice of cardiac surgery in many ways. It allows the existing MIS operations to be made more easily and routine. These surgical procedures which are performed by using MIS techniques can be performed more quickly and easily with the increased dexterity and control provided by robotic assistance. On the other hand, those surgical procedures that today are performed only rarely using MIS techniques can be achieved routinely with robotic assistance. Some of the surgical procedures have been adapted for port-based techniques but the problem is that it is extremely difficult to perform and only currently is being done by a limited number of highly skilled surgeons. Now, with this availability of robotic assistance, more surgeons at more institutions will be able to perform these procedures. It also makes new surgical procedures possible as a certain number of procedures that are currently not feasible by MIS techniques may eventually be performed through small incisions with the help of robotic technology. Thus, only small incisions are needed for the small dedicated robotic arms to perform the operation, reducing the invasive nature of the operations and the risk of other complications arising from it.

The future will be even brighter with the existence of this technology. If operations can be made by a surgeon from across a room, one would suppose that the operation could be made from another room or even from another country. It means that a doctor could even perform surgery from his own home with the existence of this technology. The implications for this technology include the possibility of operating on residents of a remote village who do not have the access to a specialized surgeon, or during war when a wounded soldier could be taken into an army vehicle equipped with the robotic system while the surgeon may operate from one safe location in an efficient manner on many wounded soldiers. Even astronauts can be operated on by these robots in the outer space!!! Hope this blog can give you all guys a clearer picture of the existing robotic surgery technology.

References
[1] http://www.uchospitals.edu/specialties/minisurgery/benefits/davinci.html
[2] http://www.shawneemission.org/content/view/61/112/
[3] http://library.thinkquest.org/C0126120/telesurgery.htm