Technology in the Operating Room: The Robot

Abstract

Robot-assisted and computer-assisted surgery are terms for technological devices using robotic systems to aid in surgical procedures. The surgeon, instead of directly using the surgical instruments, uses a computer-controlled telemanipulator that allows reproduction of finger and wrist movements during surgery, which is performed by articulated instruments at the tips of the robotic arms [1]. The term robot was used for the first time by the Czech playwright Karel Capek in 1921 in his play “Rossum’ Universal Robots” (robota is a Czech word meaning forced labor) [2]. In 1985, the PUMA 560 robot was used to place a needle for a brain biopsy under computed tomography (CT) guidance [3]. In 1988, the PROBOT device, developed at the Imperial College of London, was used for prostate surgery. In 1993, the company Computer Motion developed the AESOP (a voice-controlled camera holder) and ZEUS systems [4]. The first robotic reconnection of fallopian tubes was performed in 1997 using this device. In 1999, the first robotically assisted heart bypass and the first beating-heart coronary bypass graft were performed using the same robotic system [5]. In September 2001, Marescaux et al. performed the first transatlantic surgical intervention, the Lindbergh Operation. Surgeons where in New York, USA, and the patient affected by gallbladder stones was in Strasburg, France [6].