Robots stake their claim in the operating room

A surgical robot outperformed human surgeons in stitching the small intestines of pigs back together, researchers report. Without any direct human interaction, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) reconnected the intestines with sutures that proved more accurate, evenly spaced and durable than those created by human hands, the machine's developers said. The test shows it's possible to create a smart robot that will be able to perform an entire surgical procedure on its own, much as robot technology is now used to assemble complex machinery or safely steer airplanes and automobiles, said senior researcher Dr. Peter C.W. Kim. "Our hypothesis is you should be able to eventually program the entire surgical procedure beginning-to-end, intelligently and autonomously," said Kim, who is a pediatric surgeon and vice president of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children's National Health System, in Washington, D.C.
Robots currently are used in many surgical procedures, including heart bypass surgery, kidney transplants, prostate removal, hysterectomy and hip replacement, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. However, these robots are directly guided by a surgeon sitting at a computer station, with their movements matching those of their human operator. "When you look at the current robot, it simply is a motorized tool at the end of surgeons' fingertips," Kim explained. "It has no intelligence whatsoever." Kim and his colleagues set out to create a robot that could perform a challenging surgical procedure without any human guidance. They settled on reconnecting two ends of a small intestine as their test case, since the procedure involves soft tissue that moves around during surgery.
HealthDay

Robots stake their claim in the operating room

A surgical robot outperformed human surgeons in stitching the small intestines of pigs back together, researchers report. Without any direct human interaction, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) reconnected the intestines with sutures that proved more accurate, evenly spaced and durable than those created by human hands, the machines developers said. The test shows its possible to create a smart robot that will be able to perform an entire surgical procedure on its own, much as robot technology is now used to assemble complex machinery or safely steer airplanes and automobiles, said senior researcher Dr. Peter C.W. Kim. Our hypothesis is you should be able to eventually program the entire surgical procedure beginning-to-end, intelligently and autonomously, said Kim, who is a pediatric surgeon and vice president of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Childrens National Health System, in Washington, D.C. Robots currently are used in many surgical procedures, including heart bypass surgery, kidney transplants, prostate removal, hysterectomy and hip replacement, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. However, these robots are directly guided by a surgeon sitting at a computer station, with their movements matching those of their human operator. When you look at the current robot, it simply is a motorized tool at the end of surgeons fingertips, Kim explained. It has no intelligence whatsoever. Kim and his colleagues set out to create a robot that could perform a challenging surgical procedure without any human guidance. They settled on reconnecting two ends of a small intestine as their test case, since the procedure involves soft tissue that moves around during surgery. HealthDay