Researchers envision autonomous surgical assistants for remote areas
UC San Diego researchers have demonstrated that teleoperated humanoid robots can assist in surgical procedures, publishing the results of a preclinical trial in the journal Nature on July 9.
The trial involved two laparoscopic surgeries — including a gall bladder removal — on non-human primates, with humanoid robots assisting the procedures. The researchers said the work is a proof-of-concept for using humanoid robots in surgical settings.
Michael Yip, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC San Diego, said the robots have the potential to expand access to critical surgeries. “Remotely operated and autonomous humanoid robots have real potential for amplifying access to critical surgeries to which patients would otherwise not have access,” Yip said in a statement.
“Our goal is an operating theater of the future, where humanoid robots and humans work side by side as an integrated team to deliver procedures to those in need, both in traditional hospital settings, as well as in non-traditional, field medicine scenarios,” Yip said.
Shanglei Liu, an assistant professor of surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said using robots could reduce costs and staffing requirements for surgical procedures. She described the system as easy to deploy “anywhere from rural areas, to the battlefield, and even to space.”
Liu said one of the research team’s goals is to develop autonomous surgical assistants to treat people in areas that are difficult to reach. Yip added that using robots in places with insufficient doctors could address the problem of patients not receiving treatment.