According to the specialists from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, robots are more and more often coming to the rescue of humans undergoing delicate surgeries,.
Engineers and computer scientists at the university’s National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centre for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology are cooperating with doctors in order to build robotic tools that can improve the surgeon’s skills.
These tools include: a snakelike robot that could make it possible for surgeons to manipulate surgical instruments in narrow spaces like the throat region. The robotic assistant would help surgeons make incisions and tie sutures with greater dexterity and accuracy.
Another tool that is being prepared and tested is the steady-hand robot, which is able to grasp a needle and work along with movements of a surgeon, decreasing hand tremor that can complicate microsurgery. This robot could make it possible for surgeons to inject medications into miniscule blood vessels in the eye, dissolving clots that can harm vision.
Not replacing surgeons
"We are not trying to replace completely or automate surgeons," explained Russell Taylor, a professor of computer science and director of the centre, in a prepared statement. "Human hands are amazing, however they have some limitations. There are times when it would be useful to have a ‘third hand’, and we can provide such a possibility" he said.
The state-of-the-art medical tools also make it possible to record the surgeons’ work. This would allow physicians to examine how well patients react to treatment and find out which techniques and procedures are most successful.
"We could offer the equivalent of a flight-data recorder for the operating room," Taylor explain.
These robotic devices will need around five more years of examining and lots of improvements in a lab environment before they find their way into operating rooms.
