

Doctors At West Penn Are Using A Robot For Surgery - socalsamba
http://howtosplitanatom.com/quotable/robots-coming-to-an-operating-table-near-you/

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naish
Interesting, but this is not really newsworthy. Surgeons have been using
robots to perform a variety minimally invasive surgical procedures for years.
Intuitive Surgical (<http://www.intuitivesurgical.com/index.aspx>), maker of
the da Vinci surgical robot, is the only serious player in the market, having
bought out (and mothballing) their competitor Computer Motion. (A German
alternative was shutdown by a patient lawsuit.) The major impediment to
widespread adoption is cost: $2-3M for the robot and instruments are $3k each
(a chip embedded in each limits reuse to 10 procedures).

The leading edge in this field is the development of flexible integrated
manipulators (camera and multiple instrument arms packaged as a single device
12-15 mm in diameter) that can enter through a single port (hole), as opposed
the 3 to 4 ports used in current practice (1 for the camera and 2 to 3 for
instruments: grapsers, scissors, staplers, etc.). Ultimately, surgeons hope to
be able to perform many surgeries through natural orifices (mouth, anus,
vagina), eliminating visible scars.

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socalsamba
The da Vinci is actually the robot mentioned in this piece.

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naish
For good reason: The da Vinci is the _only_ option for performing surgical
procedures. It is the sole (currently available) robot approved by the FDA for
clinical use. The Zeus surgical system from Computer Motion is also FDA
approved; however, it is no longer available for purchase (Intuitive killed it
in favour of the da Vinci).

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socalsamba
Thanks for the information, I actually had no idea that there is only one
option.

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ivankirigin
Robotic surgery is very exciting. Keep in mind that lots of the potential is
in tele-operation - meaning robots will help get expert care to far out
places.

Working with tissues is very hard though. That kind of dexterity is very
advanced. A general purpose robot surgeon won't be out for at least a decade.

