The Da Vinci RoboSurgeon -Half man. Half machine.

Robotic blades cutting apart your flesh with unfeeling mechanical precision.  For most that's a nightmare, for some it's a profitable horror movie plot - but for a few at Imperial College London, it's the future of saving your life.

The multi-million dollar Da Vinci robot surgeon is being upgraded to interact better with softy fleshy things, both the one it's operating on and the one operating it.  New systems allow the cybosurgeon to track the eye movements of the user.  Not just the ultimate hands-free interface, the computer can take advantage of processing that human brains do automatically - rather than building up a composite image from multiple cameras and computer processing, the robot can "read out" the 3D picture the operator sees and use that instead.

Another advantage is stationary organs.  Operating on a heart would be a lot easier if the thing would hold still, the problem being that once the heart stops moving you're rather too late for an operation to help.  The Da Vinci can account for the regular motion of an organ, moving its appendages to stay in a constant position relative to the inconveniently mobile flesh - so the surgeon sees a stationary object.

The automated appendages can also enter through smaller incisions and move precisely, guided by small cameras or external sensors.  This causes much less trauma than cutting the huge holes that people need to get where they're going in your torso.  Combine this with limbs that never sweat, get tired or have cramps and it's the future of surgery.

The only worrying part is computer scientist Professor Zhong Yang's aim to "empower the robot and make it more autonomous."  This is a robot that gets to dig around in human hearts without being destroyed by a rugged action hero - if it was any more empowered it'd be Emperor Robot the First.  Add the fact that the surgeon now sits at a terminal with computer enhanced displays, complete with enhanced visuals and highlighted "no go" zones, and it converts surgery into an extremely involved video game - but you still only get one life per level.

Posted by Luke McKinney.

If you liked this article, please give it a quick review on Digg, Reddit, or StumbleUpon.Thanks!

Upgraded surgeon bot http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/mar/22/medicalresearch

Comments

[knoxvilledaniel]

Does the Da Vinci robot surgeon share a sort of connection with its human surgical partner ? THAT would be interesting. Surgical technology has come quite a ways, but I for one would hesitate about entrusting my life, health, & the safety / integrity of my organs to a machine, even one guided by a human surgeon. Not so much because I've seen lots of science fiction about rebellious / homicidal machines, but because I'd wonder if surgical robots could operate in areas requiring fine motor skills. If the robot can tie a slip - knot in a matchbox, I'd have no reservations about trusting it with nerves, veins & capillaries.