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#Industry News

MICROROBOTICS: ON THE CUSP OF A NEW ERA

Robotic Surgeons Will Become More Common and Increasingly Smaller

We are entering the era of robotic medicine, which will see more operations performed using robotic systems, a large increase in robotic prosthetics, and a greater acceptance by both patients and doctors of these systems. New high-tech, robotic surgical systems are coming on-stream to give doctors the edge, including Medtech’s ROSA brain robot and SurgiBot from TransEnterix.

Imperial College London, UK is just one of many academic centers taking a lead role in the development of advanced machines that will take surgery to new levels. One of the projects in development at Imperial College’s Hamlyn Centre is a probe that warns brain surgeons when they’re pressing too hard on delicate tissue and also reveals the structures that lie beneath using scans taken before the operation. This could act like a pre-warning system to doctors, for example by preventing them from accidentally rupturing an aneurysm while operating on a patient.

Medical robotic technology is not only becoming more widely used, it is also getting smaller: enter microrobotics. Researchers are working on miniaturized instruments that are barely half the width of a human hair and are dextrous enough to move microscopic balls around. This technology may one day make it possible to operate on individual cells. This technology will start to reach surgeons quicker as more academic centers invest in robotic research, which will mean patients will soon be in-line to reap the benefits.

Microscopic robotic instruments

Details

  • Imperial College, Saint Mary's Hospital, Norfolk Pl, London W2 1PG, UK
  • Imperial College London