Emerging Robotic Technologies Will Transform the Role of the Surgeon

Advancements in technology are transforming the operating room (OR) from an environment dominated by human interactions to a space where the surgeon is a steward of robotic and virtualization technologies.

In a symposium presented at the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) annual meeting, held during April 2010 in National Harbor (MD, USA), world renowned experts on robotics and virtual reality shared their perspectives and discussed innovations likely to affect surgical practice, surgical planning, and surgical outcomes in the near future.

Luc Stoler, M.D., of the University of Strasbourg (France) emphasized that the fusion of virtual and real-time imaging will drive surgical planning in the near future, and will play an active role in surgical cases. He explained, "Virtual imaging of the patient is important because it offers great detail on where key structures are located in the actual patient. Through a visualization scope this map can be superimposed on the active surgical field, so it is evident where, for example, a blood vessel lies or how far out of the viewing field a tumor extends.”

According to Dr. Stoler, the key challenge limiting this technology is its inability to adapt to patient movements, such as breathing and repositioning that occur during surgery. Despite that, current systems have 2-mm accuracy in the liver, and 1-mm to 3-mm accuracy of virtual systems has been recorded in kidney surgery.

Professor Rick Satava, M.D., of the University of Washington (Seattle, USA), noted that next-generation robotic systems are being developed to guide surgical planning and execution such that a surgeon may become more of a "general, guiding multiple robotic and virtual systems, rather than a soldier, executing each individual cut.” He reported to the panel on the development of an ultrasonography system that can detect internal bleeding with Doppler flow, delivering high-intensity frequency ultrasound powerful enough to coagulate bleeding vessels and remove the need for surgery in some cases.

"These advancements are exciting, but really require people to think about surgery in a completely different way, and these systems are likely to be very expensive and limited to large centers,” commented meeting attendee Courtney Spear, M.D., of the University of Colorado School of Medicine (Denver, USA).

"New technologies from information age discoveries are driving basic approaches in virtually all aspects of healthcare innovation,” concluded the discussion cochairman of the panel Mehran Anvari, M.D., a professor of surgery at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada).

Related Links:
University of Strasbourg
University of Washington
McMaster University