Beyond da Vinci: Why versatile humanoid robots are the next frontier in surgery

In a medical first, University of California San Diego researchers have successfully used two teleoperated humanoid robots to complete surgeries during a preclinical trial, according to a study published in Nature. One surgery involved a humanoid robot and a human surgeon assistant performing a gallbladder removal, while another was performed by two humanoids working together. Both procedures were conducted on large non-primate mammals.

The proof-of-concept experiment is a first step toward introducing humanoids in the operating room, the researchers said. These robots could first assist during procedures, then later perform surgeries with teleoperation. “Remotely operated and autonomous humanoid robots have real potential for amplifying access to critical surgeries to which patients would otherwise not have access,” said Michael Yip, a faculty member in the UC San Diego Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and one of the paper’s senior authors.

Unlike dedicated platforms such as Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci Surgical System or Stryker’s Mako Robotic Arm, the researchers focused on the thesis that humanoid robots are versatile and could perform a wide range of procedures and general tasks. The procedure performed was a colocystectomy, which is a common but challenging gallbladder removal requiring dexterous instruments.

Source: The Robot Report