A robot has successfully performed “keyhole” intestinal surgery on pigs without any help from humans, according to a research from John Hopkins University (published in Robotics Science). Furthermore, the Intelligent Autonomous Tissue Robot (STAR) handles complex procedures “significantly better” than human doctors. This breakthrough marks an important step towards automated surgery that could help “democratize” patient care, the researchers say.
Laparoscopic or keyhole surgery requires the surgeon to manipulate and suture the intestines and other organs through small incisions, a technique that requires high skill level and there is little margin for error. The team chose to perform “enteric anastomosis” (joining the two ends of the intestine), a particularly difficult keyhole procedure.
Soft tissue surgery is generally difficult for robots due to its unpredictability. To solve that problem, the STAR robot has been equipped with specialized stitching tools and a state-of-the-art imaging system that can deliver extremely precise images.
John Hopkins
Specifically, it has a “structural light-based holographic endoscope and machine learning-based tracking algorithm” to guide the robots. Professor Jin Kang of John Hopkins said: “We believe that an advanced three-dimensional machine vision system is essential in making intelligent surgical robots smarter and safer. Best of all, STAR is the first robotic system that can “plan, adapt and execute surgical plans in soft tissue with minimal human intervention,” said first author Hamed Saeidi. Using all that technology, the STAR robot successfully performed the trick on four animals
Laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive compared to conventional surgery, helping to ensure better outcomes for patients. However, because it takes so long to master, there is a relatively small group of doctors who can do it.
Senior author Axel Krieger from John Hopkins said: “Robotal angiography is one way to ensure that surgical tasks that require high precision and reproducibility can be performed with precision and accuracy. greater accuracy in every patient, independent of the surgeon’s skill.” “We hypothesize that this will lead to a democratized surgical approach to patient care with more predictable and consistent patient outcomes.”
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