Can surgeon’s hand be replaced with a smart surgical instrument in esophagectomy?

Application of artificial palpation in vascular surgeries for detection of peripheral arterial stenosis

Palpation is one of the applied methods that surgeons usually use during surgery in order to verify the health condition of a tissue/organ. In fact, most of surgical assessments are based on analysis of the force feedback received from tissue/organ via palpation. Although palpation has a key role in efficient progress of surgery operations, it depends very much on the experience and skill of the surgeons. This limits the application of this technique in some cases to a large extent. In this regard, an artificial tactile sensing approach is an innovative technology that tries to make tactile data more available for surgeons, especially in situations where doing the palpation is not possible or is too difficult. In this paper, having considered the present problems of artery bypass surgery in peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD), applicability of a new tactile sensory system capable of detecting arterial stenosis during surgery was evaluated. Presenting the modelling and numerical solution of the problem, it was demonstrated that the artificial tactile sensing approach is not only capable of detecting the presence of an arterial stenosis in an artery, but also its type. Furthermore, it was shown that the new tactile sensory system (previously designed, fabricated and tested in laboratory) is efficiently capable of detecting the simulated artery in the simulated biological tissue as well as diagnosis of the stenosis occurred inside it.

Advances in medical robotic systems with specific applications in surgery--a review

Although robotics was started as a form of entertainment, it gradually became used in different branches of science. Medicine, particularly in the operating room, has been influenced significantly by this field. Robotic technologies have offered valuable enhancements to medical or surgical processes through improved precision, stability and dexterity. In this paper we review different robotics and computer-assisted systems developed with medical and surgical applications. We cover early and recently developed systems in different branches of surgery. In addition to the united operational systems, we provide a review of miniature robotic, diagnostic and sensory systems developed to assist or collaborate with a main operator system. At the end of the paper, a discussion is given with the aim of summarizing the proposed points and predicting the future of robotics in medicine.