Teleoperated humanoid robots have been used to complete two surgeries during a
preclinical trial, researchers report in the journal Nature.
The world’s first is the result of a collaboration between a team of engineers and a
team of surgeons at the University of California San Diego.
In one surgery, a human-robot team made up of a humanoid robot and a human
surgeon acting as an assistant successfully performed a gallbladder removal.
A second successful surgery was performed by two humanoid robots working side
by side in a robot-robot team. Both procedures were performed on large non-primate
mammals.
The proof-of-concept experiment is a first step toward introducing humanoid robots
in the operating room, researchers said.
These robots could first assist during procedures, then later perform surgeries while
teleoperated by surgeons.
Michael Yip, a faculty member in the UC San Diego Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering and one of the paper’s senior authors, said: ‘Remotely
operated and autonomous humanoid robots have real potential for amplifying access
to critical surgeries to which patients would otherwise not have access. This can help
address the healthcare crisis not only in the US, but also worldwide.’
Humanoid robots could also help to address access issues – one of the major issues
in healthcare.
These robots are also easier to deploy in remote areas and other challenging
environments, where versatility is important.
‘This study shows that humanoid robots have a viable future in the field of surgery.
You can imagine these robots being deployed in remote communities where staffing
is challenging, or in austere environments like search and rescue scenarios where a
massive deployment of field medicine is needed in a short period of time,’ Yip added.
Specialised surgery systems are typically equipped with three or four robotic arms,
specialised tools and proprietary software.
These systems weigh about 1,800 pounds, require a large team to set up, and take
up a significant footprint in operating rooms, which usually need to be retrofitted to
accommodate them.
By contrast, humanoid robots are mobile and more compact. The robots used in this
study, nicknamed Surgie, are five feet tall and weigh 60 pounds. These relatively
light, compact robots are especially useful in remote, under-resourced areas.
Unlike a typical surgical operating system, humanoid robots fit seamlessly in the
operating room.
‘We were surprised at how well Surgie meshed with our workspace and workflow,’
said study co-author Nikita Thareja, MD, a general surgery resident at UC San Diego
School of Medicine.
A procedure performed by a teleoperated humanoid robot is just as precise as one
performed with a teleoperated surgical robotic system, said Shanglei Liu, an
assistant professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, one of the
paper’s senior authors, who teleoperated the robot during the study.
Liu, who is also affiliated with the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of
Bioengineering, said: ‘It's a fraction of the cost, and it takes a fraction of the space in
an operating room. So it’s easy to deploy, anywhere from rural areas to the
battlefield, and even to space.’
In one surgery, a human-robot team made up of a humanoid robot and a human
surgeon acting as an assistant successfully performed a gallbladder removal.
Several issues with teleoperation still need to be addressed, however. The robots
had to be recalibrated several times during surgery. As a result, the procedures took
much longer than when performed with existing specialised surgical systems. But
this was also common with early-stage specialised robotic systems as well and will
likely get better with time, Liu said. The first robotic laparoscopic surgery took six
hours; it now takes 30 minutes.
Latency is also being improved as the team explores longer-distance operations to
remote communities.
Researchers also see a different role for Surgie. Because it can walk and perform
most physical tasks a human can do, it could fetch tools for the surgeons and could
clean up an operating room after a procedure.
Ryan Broderick, the interim director of the Centre for the Future of Surgery and
associate professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, said: ‘This
achievement reflects the power of bringing engineers and surgeon innovators
together to solve meaningful clinical problems at our world-class training and
research lab. Our centre provides a setting to bridge engineering innovation and
clinical expertise, allowing transformative ideas to be rigorously developed, tested,
and refined.’
