Preliminary Porcine in vivo Evaluation of a Telerobotic System for Transurethral Bladder Tumor Resection & Surveillance.

INTRODUCTION Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumors (TURBT) can be a challenging procedure, primarily due to limitations in tool-tip dexterity, visualization and lack of tissue depth information. A transurethral robotic system was developed to revolutionize TURBT by addressing some of these limitations. The results of three pilot in-vivo porcine studies using the novel robotic system are presented and potential improvements are proposed based on experimental observations. MATERIALS & METHODS A transvesical endoscope with a mounted optically-tracked camera was placed through the bladder of the swine under general anesthesia. Simulated bladder lesions were created by injecting HistoGel processing gel mixed with blue dye trans-abdominally into various locations in the bladder wall under endoscopic visualization. A seven-degree-of-freedom (DoF) robot was then used for transurethral resection/ablation of these simulated tumors. An independent two-DoF distal laser arm (DLA) was deployed through the robot for laser ablation and was assisted by a manually controlled gripper for en-bloc resection attempts. RESULTS Lesions were successfully created and ablated using our novel endoscopic robot in the swine bladder. Full accessibility of the bladder, including the bladder neck and dome, was demonstrated without requiring bladder deflation or pubic compression. Simulated lesions were successfully ablated using the Holmium laser. En-bloc resection was demonstrated using the DLA and a manual grasper. CONCLUSION Feasibility of robot-assisted en-bloc resection was demonstrated. Main challenges were lack of depth perception and visual occlusion induced by the transvesical endoscope presented challenges. Recommendations are given to enhance robot-assisted TURBT. Lessons learned through these pilot swine studies verify the feasibility of robot-assisted TURBT while informing designers about critical aspects needed for future successful clinical deployment.