Milli-robotics for remote, minimally invasive surgery

In this paper, we describe an ongoing collaborative research project between the Universities of California at Berkeley and San Francisco with Endorobotics Corporation to develop milli-robotic tools for remote, minimally invasive surgery. We describe the limitations of current surgical practice and then describe the technological and scientific issues involved in building a telesurgical workstation. We describe the novel techniques that we have adapted from MEMS for the design of the milli-robots, their actuators, tactile sensors and displays. We also discuss the need for modeling compliant tissue for telepresent manipulation and training. We, then, describe a test bed telesurgical workstation that has been set up at Berkeley. Animal trials are ready to commence on this surgical workstation. Finally, we do a brief review of related projects. In this paper, we describe our research program for developing tools for minimally invasive remote surgery. Key to this paper is the use of minimally invasive surgery. For urgent remote care, it is usually advisable not to cause additional trauma by an invasive operating procedure and also to keep low the possibility of infection in an incompletely sterile environment. Thus, the need for milli-robotics for this surgery and the need for new kinds of robots, tactile and visual sensors, and human-machine interfaces. While we talk primarily about general surgery in this white paper, we have the goal of eventually being able to do coronary procedures, through minimally invasive thoracoscopes. Minimally invasive surgical techniques, including endoscopy (gastrointestinal surgery), laparoscopy (abdominal surgery), arthroscopy (orthopedic surgery) and thoracoscopy (lung surgery), are revolutionizing surgery. The surgery includes a number of techniques that access internal anatomy via small incisions or orifices. Trauma to surrounding tissue is minimized, thereby reducing recovery time, risk, and costs. The advent and improvement of active optics, including fiber optics, CCD imagers, and CRT displays, has advanced the state of the art in minimally invasive surgery for procedures such as gall bladder removal