A methodology for design and appraisal of surgical robotic systems

Abstract

SUMMARYSurgical robotics is a growing discipline, continuously expanding with an influx of new ideas and research. However, it is important that the development of new devices take account of past mistakes and successes. A structured approach is necessary, as with proliferation of such research, there is a danger that these lessons will be obscured, resulting in the repetition of mistakes and wasted effort and energy. There are several research paths for surgical robotics, each with different risks and opportunities and different methodologies to reach a profitable outcome. The main emphasis of this paper is on a methodology for 'applied research' in surgical robotics. The methodology sets out a hierarchy of criteria consisting of three tiers, with the most important being the bottom tier and the least being the top tier. It is argued that a robotic system must adhere to these criteria in order to achieve acceptability. Recent commercial systems are reviewed against these criteria, and are found to conform up to at least the bottom and intermediate tiers, the most important first two tiers, and thus gain some acceptability. However, the lack of conformity to the criteria in the top tier, and the inability to conclusively prove increased clinical benefit, is shown to be hampering their potential in gaining wide establishment.

Image-based robotic system for enhanced minimally invasive intra-articular fracture surgeries

“…Surgical procedures require a high degree of capability, efficiency, and safety for both the patient and the surgeon [1]. The treatment of lower limb joint fractures consists in anatomical surgical reduction involving an open incision (Fig.1a) into the joint.…”

Minimally Invasive Surgery for the Treatment of Colorectal Cancer

“…Germany also contributed to the history of employing robotic surgery after F.-W. Mohr had successfully carried out the first robotically assisted heart bypass in Leipzig in 1998. In 2008, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) presented the first robotic system for minimally invasive surgery [45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59] (fig. 3).…”

Robotized System for Bone Drilling and Cutting in Orthopedic Surgery

“…Some of the first developed orthopedic surgery robots were Robodoc, Caspar [1]- [3], [14], Acrobot [1], [2], [14] . Many surgical operations have been performed all over the word by MAKO, and Da Vinci robots [1], [2], [14]. However, these computer assistive orthopedic surgery robotized systems are expensive and require special maintenance [1], [2], [14].…”

“…Many surgical operations have been performed all over the word by MAKO, and Da Vinci robots [1], [2], [14]. However, these computer assistive orthopedic surgery robotized systems are expensive and require special maintenance [1], [2], [14]. They are not affordable for most hospitals.…”