Surgical Robot Assists Surgical Team

A new surgical robot is designed to function as an independent assistant to a surgical team by handing and retrieving instruments during a surgical procedure.

The robot, known as the Penelope surgical instrument server (SIS), was designed and developed by Robotic Surgical Tech, Inc. (RST, New York, NY, USA). When a surgeon asks for an instrument, Penelope retrieves it from an instrument tray. The robot picks up the instrument with a special gripper and hands it to the surgeon. When finished, the surgeon lays the instrument down. Penelope then uses a vision system, equipped with a digital camera, to locate the instrument and return it to the instrument tray. The system is designed to improve the quality of care while reducing medical costs.

Recently, Penelope functioned as an independent assistant while a surgical team successfully removed a benign tumor on the forearm of a patient at New York Presbyterian Hospital (NY, USA). Penelope is easy to use, allowing surgeons and nurses to interact with her as if they were interacting with a person. She will assist nurses and surgeons but have no direct patient contact.

"We are really excited about this new technology,” said Dr. Michael R. Treat, founder of RST and an attending surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Pavilion. "Robotics will help save time and increase efficiency in the operating room.”

Penelope SIS is equipped with voice recognition software as well as special software that predicts which instrument the surgeon may need next and provide a detailed count of all instruments that were used.




Related Links:
Robotic Surgical Tech