TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Autonomous Robotic Surgery: No Doctor Required

Rebecca Kutzer-Rice | Date: 07-27-10 | Comments

Researchers at Duke University are combining current robotic techniques to create autonomous machines that can operate without assistance from doctors. Such robots could make surgeries cheaper and more successful.

Robot-assisted surgeries are becoming commonplace in the United States. Especially helpful in complex situations like pediatric and gynecological surgeries, robots support doctors by providing 3D imaging, increasing accuracy and filtering out hand tremors. Surgeries assisted by robots usually have better long-term results than regular surgeries. Researchers at Duke University are developing autonomous robots that are able to perform surgeries alone�an advance that could one day eliminate the need for a doctor in certain procedures.

Researchers from Stephen Smith�s laboratory at Duke University demonstrated that autonomous robots are especially skilled at identifying masses and lesions, and taking tissue samples. Surgical applications of these tasks include breast and prostate biopsies, both common procedures. To simulate these operations, researchers used whole, raw turkey breasts. Turkey is often used in medical research because its texture resembles human tissue. To mimic masses, researchers inserted grapes into the turkey breasts.

Kaicheng Liang demonstrates the robot, which can autonomously perform simple surgical tasks.

The scientists combined existing robotic technology to create an autonomous surgical machine. To operate, the robot uses the same arm used in non-autonomous surgeries. For "eyes," the robot has its own ultrasound system, which collects data and targets objects. The robot is controlled by an artificial intelligence program that is able to process real-time 3D information and give the arm commands. Its arm is able to operate the same surgical devices that a physician would use.

"Earlier this year we demonstrated that a robot directed by artificial intelligence can on its own locate simulated calcifications and cysts in simulated breast tissue with high repeatability and accuracy," says Kaicheng Liang, director of the Duke University Ultrasound Transducer Group at the Pratt School of Engineering and senior member of the research team. "Now we have shown that the robot can sample up to eight different spots in simulated human prostate tissue."

Autonomous robotic surgeries could lessen the time and costs of common procedures, a welcome change for both patients and doctors, who could focus energies on more complicated operations.

The research, which was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, appears in the current issue of Ultrasonic Imaging. Other researchers included Edward Light and A.J. Roberts from Duke, and Daniel von Allmen from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.