Unveiling Cutting Edge Innovations in Robotic Surgical Technology

Dr. N. K. Pandey, D.Sc, FRCS-Edinburgh, FRCS-Glasgow, FICS & FACS, is a distinguished surgeon celebrated for his exceptional dedication to healthcare. Awarded the prestigious Padma Shri and Dr. B.C Roy National Award, he's the visionary behind the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences. With a rich history of leadership, including as Ex-President of ASI, he's a revered educator, examiner, and editor, shaping the landscape of surgical practice worldwide. He engaged in a conversation with the India Pharma Outlook magazine to shed light on the cutting edge technologies in robotics surgery.

In the past few decades, technologies and innovations have emerged and they are helping people in many ways. Nowadays almost every disease has a solution and treatment. All thanks to this advancement and innovations. Advances in surgical technologies have enabled surgical procedures to become less traumatic for the patient. Many surgeries have transitioned away from an open method towards a less invasive laparoscopic approach that requires one or more small incisions. This transition has been driven by the advancement of knowledge and tools available to today’s surgeons. In the last few years, the use of the procedure of robotic surgical technology has been growing rapidly. Let's talk about the cutting-edge innovations in robotic surgery technology. 

Unveiling Cutting edge innovations

Miniatures in vivo robots: One of the new innovations in robotic surgical technology is using miniatures in vivo robots. For more flexibility, these robots have two arms which are multi-functional and there are various joints in these robots too. With the help of this innovation, surgery with very little invasion is possible. The application of robotic technology benefits the surgeon by improving both manipulation and visualization. Miniature in vivo surgical robots that are portable, cost-effective, and scalable represent the future of surgical robotics. This class of robot is made up of one or more arms that are held primarily within the insufflated abdominal cavity. Miniature in vivo robots have the potential to address the limitations of using articulated instrumentation to perform advanced laparoscopic surgical procedures. Once inserted into the peritoneal cavity, the robot provides a stable platform for visualization with sufficient dexterity and speed to perform surgical tasks from multiple orientations and workspaces.

Robotic capsule endoscopes, an embodiment of advances in onboard technology that enable sensing and active locomotion, are actively controlled diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Recent developments in field generation and robotic manipulation of magnets suggest that, with further control development and clinical trials, robotic capsule endoscopes have the potential to become a new standard for gastrointestinal endoscopy. They are used for various medical processes like for diagnosis of disease and for medication administration etc. The benefit of these robots is: that they are very small in size so the whole process can be done quickly and without any severe tissue damage. 

Microbots: This is a very advanced technology that is not being used right now but in the future, this can be possible. With the help of microbots, surgeons can put these bots into circulation and transfer them to the problematic area so that the need for making an invasion can be abolished. There is no physical link to the operator. Microrobots typically measure less than 1 millimeter, though sizing can vary based on the researcher and use case. Today, microrobots are mainly used in the biotech industry, aiding in the development of diagnostic and targeted therapeutic purposes.

Role of Artificial intelligence in Robotic Surgical Technology

AI is already very helpful to the doctors and to the patients as well. It has made keeping track of patients' health, diagnosis, and prescribing medicines process very hassle-free. With the help of artificial intelligence, doctors can get the perfect and best solution by learning from various surgical procedures. By understanding the latest trends and patterns doctors can find the best approach. Artificial intelligence will help surgeons reach out to a large population even without the need for their location. Artificial intelligence is being applied to surgical robotics. Manufacturers see the need to use deep learning data to automate rather than behavior programmed by an engineer who does not know all the scenarios. This deep machine-learning data is collected from watching surgeons perform. Thanks to this data and complex algorithms, AI can determine patterns within surgical procedures to improve best practices and to improve surgical robots’ control accuracy to submillimeter precision. AI is also being used with machine vision to analyze scans and detect cancerous cases. Laparoscopic video analysis of surgeries, like sleeve gastrectomy procedures, helps to identify missing or unexpected steps in real-time. With the help of artificial intelligence, the stress level of doctors can be reduced. With the help of AI, the whole process can be made very efficient and smooth.