Flexible and Reusable Medical-Grade Plastic Device Aids Robot-Assisted Heart Surgery

Image: The surgical field expansion plate allows surgeons more independence (Photo courtesy of Osaka Metropolitan University)

Robot-assisted heart surgery generally requires the presence of an assistant at the operating table to aid the surgeon in inserting the robotic arm through a small incision. This assistant must continuously ensure that the surgeon has sufficient space to operate with the robotic arm. To enhance the surgeon's independence, researchers have created a device designed to secure the surgical field.

A research team at Osaka Metropolitan University (Osaka, Japan) has developed a surgical field expansion plate made from plastic commonly used in medical implants and the aerospace sector. When shaped into a circular form, the polyether ether ketone plate expands to a specified size and maintains its shape, effectively securing the surgical field. The plate has a thickness of 0.4 millimeters, with various widths and lengths available to meet the specific needs of different surgical procedures. The device has been tested during actual heart surgery, and the results were published in the journal Innovations.

“This flexible yet rigid medical-grade device is simple to use and reusable,” said Yosuke Takahashi, Associate Professor at Osaka Metropolitan University and a member of the research team. “This plate is expected to make it possible to perform robot-assisted heart surgery that is not dependent on the skill of the assistant, with further applications expected in fields such as oral surgery and otolaryngology.”