Robot succeeds in performing keyhole surgery on pigs without human assistance robots

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The robotic surgeon will see you now.

For years, the medical world has been steadily advancing the art of robot-assisted procedures, enabling physicians to improve their technique within the operating room.

Now US researchers say the robot has successfully performed keyhole surgery on all pigs on its own – without the human-guided hand. Furthermore, they add, the robotic surgeon has produced “much better” results than humans.

This breakthrough is another step towards the day when patients can be completely automated surgery.

An intelligent tissue-grade robot (STAR) performed laparoscopic surgery to connect the two ends of the intestines in four pigs. According to a research paper published in Science Robotics, the robot excelled in a procedure that requires a high level of precision and repetitive motions.

This is the first time a robot has performed laparoscopic surgery without human assistance, said Axel Krieger, of Johns Hopkins University.

“Our findings show that we can automate one of the most complex and sensitive tasks in surgery: reconnecting the two ends of the intestine,” he said. “The star performed the procedure in four animals and achieved significantly better results than humans who had the same procedure.”

Binding of both ends of the intestine is a challenging procedure in gastrointestinal surgery, requiring the surgeon to place sutures – or sutures – with high precision and consistency. Even a slight jerk in the hand or a misplaced stitch can lead to leakage that can cause the patient to suffer fatal complications.

Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, helped create the robot, a vision-guided system designed specifically for suturing soft tissue. It improves on the 2016 model that repaired the pig’s intestines, but required a large incision to access the intestines and more guidance from humans.

Experts say new features allow for improved surgical precision, including specialized suture tools and imaging systems that provide more accurate visualizations of the surgical field.

Soft tissue surgery is difficult for robots to perform due to its unpredictability, forcing them to adapt quickly to deal with unexpected obstacles. The paper outlined a new control system in Star that could modify the surgical plan in real time, just as a human surgeon would.

“What makes the Star device special is that it is the first robotic system to plan, adapt, and perform a surgical plan in soft tissue with minimal human intervention,” Krieger said.

“Robotic anastomosis (surgical joining of two structures) is one way to ensure that surgical tasks that require high precision and reproducibility can be performed with greater precision and accuracy in every patient regardless of the skill of the surgeon. We hypothesize that this will lead to a democratic surgical approach to patient care with more amenable outcomes. for prognosis and stability for patients.”

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