Robotic-assisted Surgery

In robotic-assisted surgery the surgeon controls robotic arms with surgical instruments and a 3D camera from a console. The robot does not act on its own; it follows the surgeon's hand movements. Example: da Vinci system.

Components

Part	Function
Surgeon console	3D view, hand and foot controls
Patient-side cart	Arms holding wristed instruments and camera
Vision cart	Image processing, display
Image guidance	Pre-operative CT/MRI registration and navigation

Advantages

• Higher precision with motion scaling and tremor filtering.
• 3D magnified high-definition view.
• Greater dexterity (wristed instruments with 7 degrees of freedom).
• Minimally invasive: smaller cuts, less blood loss, less pain, quicker recovery, shorter hospital stay, lower infection risk.
• Surgeon comfort (ergonomic) and possibility of tele-surgery.

Limitations

High cost, training need, no force feedback in many systems, longer set-up time.

Applications

Urology (prostatectomy), gynaecology, cardiac, orthopaedic (knee/hip), general and head-neck surgery.

Exam tip

Draw the console - control - arms flow and list 5 advantages.