Robots in Healthcare: How Bot Assistants Are Helping Doctors

Advanced robotics are revolutionizing the healthcare industry by helping doctors and medical practitioners improve the efficiency of their work.

Now, a small robot is being created by the Ganymed project in Paris to improve the accuracy of joint replacement procedures, according to a report by Robohub.

A Robotic Arm with "Eyes"

The robot is made out of an arm with "eyes" installed on it, and it uses sophisticated computer vision to assess the location and orientation of a patient's anatomical structure without the usage of intrusive rods and optical trackers.

The 'eyes' increase accuracy by giving haptic feedback and limiting instrument movement outside of predetermined virtual boundaries. The robotic arm will then let surgeons carry out surgeries while employing instruments.

The robot gathers information that it may utilize to improve processes in real-time.

Many people have shown interest in Ganymed's robot, particularly distributors in developing nations like India.

Robohub notes that this demand is driven by the need for arthroplasty. It is a surgical procedure to restore the function of a joint by replacing or repairing damaged or diseased joint parts.

Although the team hopes to eventually expand to other joints like the shoulder, ankle, and hip, the robot's first concentration is on complete knee arthroplasty.

According to Sophie Cahen, chief executive officer and co-founder of Ganymed Robotics, the company wants to democratize access to high-quality medical care and surgery by making the robot affordable and widely available.

The MUSA Robot

Meanwhile, the MEETMUSA project, which is supported by the EU, has been working to create what it claims is the first surgical robot for microsurgery to be approved under the EU's "CE" regulatory framework.

The tiny, light robot, known as MUSA, is coupled to a platform with arms that can precisely grasp and operate microsurgical equipment.

During surgery, the platform is suspended above the patient and is operated by the surgeon using specially designed joysticks.

The use of MUSA by surgeons to treat breast cancer-related lymphedema was documented in a study from 2020. Lymphedema is a chronic disorder that frequently develops as a side effect of cancer treatment and is defined by the swelling of bodily tissues as a result of fluid buildup.

The procedure was performed using a robot that connected neighboring veins in the afflicted location with tiny lymph capillaries measuring 0.3 to 0.8 millimeters in diameter.

Even with highly competent surgeons, such delicate surgeries are carried out manually and are impacted by a minor shaking of the hands. This issue is avoidable with the robot.

The team claims that MUSA can achieve even higher accuracy than traditional surgery since it can greatly scale down the surgeon's general hand movements rather than just repeating them one-to-one.

Other treatments have been performed with the current iteration of MUSA, such as lower leg soft tissue rebuilding and nerve repair.

The producer of MUSA, Microsure, is working on a third iteration of the robot called MUSA-3 that will increase accuracy and broaden its scope of use.

With its rate of advancement, robotics are transforming healthcare as they deliver tools that may allow more surgeons to do complex surgeries with a higher success rate.