Surgery performed via satellite

Robots that perform surgery can be directed by surgeons from a computer console.

The console can be situated in the operating theatre, operated by surgeons only a few metres away from the patient.

Now a team of surgeons and scientists have shown that the surgeon and robot can be linked via a 4,000-mile internet connection, or by satellite.

This raises the possibility of a surgeon’s expertise being made available to patients lying in surgical theatres thousands of miles away.

Robots are already improving usefulness in minimally invasive surgery that requires high precision, and there is no reason, in theory, why robots cannot be used for more so long as the communications link between console and robot is fast.

Delays between the image of the patient being captured and developed by the console and the surgeons directing the robot are currently a problem.

Canadian team tested surgery via the internet and satellite

A team of 11 researchers, who work jointly in the Department of Medical Biophysics in London, Ontario, the University of Western Ontario, CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies & Advanced Robotics) and London Health Sciences Centre in Canada, set out to test whether it is possible to link the surgeon and robot through the internet and by satellite.

Their experimental surgical trials showed that the delays were much greater when they used the satellite link than using the internet (600ms vs 55ms respectively).

But after a short period of practice, the surgeon got used to this and there were no measurable differences in the quality of the surgery using the two forms of communication.

The team thinks that virtual reality prediction would also greatly aid this type of surgery.

"This is an exciting next step forward in developing telesurgery, which holds the promise of many new efficient and cost-effective ways of providing advanced healthcare services," said project leader Reiza Rayman, the Director of Research and Business Operations at CSTAR.

The breakthrough was reported in The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery.

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