For the first time, surgeons in Switzerland have successfully performed a remote endoscopic surgery on a pig nearly 6,000 miles away in Hong Kong. What makes this feat extra special is that they reportedly used a video game controller for the procedure—something that could indicate future possibilities for remote human surgeries in places that lack medical expertise.
Changing the Remote Surgery with Technology
The success was mainly because of an advanced robotic system and a magnetic endoscope connected via the real-time WebSocket protocol for efficient data transfer from Zurich, where the surgeon's location was, to the actual operation site in Hong Kong.
According to The Street Journal, the surgeon controlled an endoscope within the pig's body using the PlayStation Move controller.
This way, control over the procedure reached a level never seen before. There were also new demonstrations that depicted the usage of controllers in PlayStation 5. It made the technology even more accessible.
Precise movements with an external magnetic field controlled by a surgeon based in Zurich allowed for complex jobs with the endoscope, such as U-turns and biopsies.
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Reducing Latency for Real-Time Surgical Control
One of the most important aspects of the experiment was the ability to achieve latency levels below 300 milliseconds. Such responsiveness is a critical aspect in a surgical environment, as it enables the remote surgeon to react promptly to any changes during the surgery.
Low latency made control feel as natural as in traditional surgeries, so real-time manipulation was possible even at the considerable distance between a surgeon and a patient.
Remote Surgeries: Implications for Global Healthcare
FoxNews reports that this experiment's success opens exciting prospects for telesurgery, particularly in extending crucial health services to remote areas where exceptional surgeons are not available. This technology may enable life-saving procedures to be more accessible to underserved populations, even in emergencies that require timely interventions.
Further, this technology could be used outside Earth. For example, in the far-off spaces of space exploration where medical assistance is scant, robotic telesurgery may prove handy for astronauts needing surgical services to be rendered far from Earth.
"Teleoperated endoscopy offers not only remote surgical training and mentoring but also immediate diagnostic and surgical care in remote areas, particularly when local expertise is lacking. A remote expert can even instruct trained nurses to perform the procedures. Millions of patients worldwide will be able to be diagnosed and treated for gastrointestinal cancer in a timely manner as endoscopic technology becomes more accessible," said Dr Shannon Melissa Chan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at CU Medicine.
The Challenges of Remote Surgery
While the technology is tremendous in its promise, a few challenges remain. To begin with, this demands high-speed internet connectivity to send data in real-time; therefore, communication among remote surgeons and local medical staff, which may be required for the smooth execution of these procedures, should not be wanting.
More importantly, it is essential to enhance the reliability and safety of robotic systems so that no complication occurs during surgery.
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