Background: Dynamic postural instability is a common neuromuscular impairment in cerebral palsy (CP), which often includes balance dysfunction and an associated risk of serious falls. Robotic hippotherapy has recently become a widespread clinical application to facilitate postural core stabilization, strength, and endurance through repetitive vestibular and proprioceptive stimulation to the spi...

— For robotic manipulators that are redundant or with high degrees of freedom, an analytical solution to the inverse kinematics is very difficult or impossible. As alternative approaches, neural networks and optimal search methods have been widely used for inverse kinematics modeling and control in robotics. This paper presents a first analytical solution to the inverse kinematics of a widely u...

BACKGROUND We performed a pilot study using a single virtual-simulation suturing module as an objective measurement to determine functional use of the robotic system. This study will assist in designing a study for an objective, adjunctive test for use by a surgical proctor. METHODS After IRB approval, subjects were recruited at a robotic renal surgery course to perform two attempts of the "T...

The da Vinci S surgical system (Intuitive Surgical) was approved as a medical device in 2009 by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Robotic surgery has since been used in gastrointestinal, thoracic, gynecological, and urological surgeries. In April 2012, robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) was first approved for insurance coverage. Since then, RALP has be...

Several studies in the last years demonstrated the better surgical outcome of laparoscopic approach to adrenal gland. Laparoscopic surgery is more difficult to learn and requires different psychomotor skills than open surgery, especially with regard to complex maneuvers requiring precision and dexterity. The development of robotic platform with three-dimensional vision and increased degrees of ...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We sought to examine the outcomes of patients with myomatous uteri weighing >1000 g who underwent hysterectomy by one of two modalities, either with a robotic system or by laparotomy. METHODS All patients who underwent robotic hysterectomy for uteri weighing >1000 g at our institution between May 2007 and January 2011 were identified, and a retrospective chart review...

OBJECTIVES The use of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is rapidly increasing with advances in technology and improved clinical outcomes. Adoption of robotic catheter technologies could have a role in TAVI, in different stages of the procedure, to improve endovascular tool manipulation and potentially reduce the risk of cerebral embolization. The aim was to determine whether there ...

OBJECTIVE Integration of robotic surgical technology into skull base surgery is limited due to minimum angle requirements between robotic tools (narrow funnel effect), steep angle of approach, and instrumentation size. The objectives of this study were to systematically analyze surgical approach portals using a computer model, determine optimal approaches, and assess feasibility of the derived ...

BACKGROUND This study assessed the results of robotic thyroidectomy by fellowship-trained surgeons in their initial independent practice, and whether standard fellowship training for robotic surgery shortens the learning curve. METHODS This prospective cohort study evaluated outcomes in 125 patients who underwent robotic thyroidectomy using gasless transaxillary single-incision technique by 2...

In the area of logistics, there currently is a capability gap between the one-ton Army robotic Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment (MULE) vehicle and a soldier’s backpack. The Unmanned Systems Branch at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR Systems Center, or SSC), San Diego, with the assistance of a group of interns from nearby High Tech High School, has demonstrated enablin...