Keywords
Citation
(1999), "Robotic surgery", Industrial Robot, Vol. 26 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1999.04926dab.007
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
Robotic surgery
Robotic surgery
Keywords Medical, Robotics
Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, New York, has developed a robotic system for endoscopic suturing during thoracic surgery.
Two fully articulated robot arms, each about the size of a wooden pencil, are inserted into small button hole openings in the patient's chest. A TV camera inserted into another opening relays out a picture of the surgical area.
The surgeon indicates on a computer screen where to start, the line of suturing and the end point. Computer control then directs the robot arms to suture along the line as indicated. The surgeon monitors the process on the TV screen and can alter or stop the process if needed.
Commercialization of the endoscopic robot suturing system has been placed into the hands of a start up company, Endobotics. CAT has a well established program of incubation of start up companies which develop out of research projects conducted at RPI.
The most famous startup company enjoying incubation at RPI is MapInfo, a computer software mapping supplier. Other startups in various stages of commercialization at CAT/RPI include Step Tools and Advanced Realtime Control Systems.