Robotic Surgery - Engineering from a Surgeon's Perspective

Robotic surgery has made considerable strides in the last 15 years. FDA-approved robotic systems have revolutionized surgery by giving surgeons better visualization and precision. However, even with the most sophisticated systems, the limitations of surgical robotics are clear to the surgeons who use them. Technologies that are new or greatly improved in the past decade can make possible a new generation of surgical robotics, which in turn, would give new capabilities to skilled surgeons and result in better outcomes to patients.
Advances in a range of technologies that may benefit robotic surgery include the incorporation of force feedback which will reduce surgical errors such as the accidental penetration of organs and suture breakage, and tactile sensation which would give surgeons the "feel" of open surgery while working with robotic "hands" through keyhole incisions.

To take surgery to the next level, visualization beyond the surface of organs is the obvious next step. With current robotic systems, while surgeons seated at consoles away from the patient have magnified and 3-D views inside the patient's body, they are not able to see inside organs and tissues. Real-time imaging using biosensors would facilitate dissection at a subsurface level.

Speaker: Susan Lim