X-Surgical presents its first prototype

X-Surgical has already raised money to set up operations in Cambridge, and now showcasing its prototype for the first time. Actually, it is being the relived, Gamma version of Surgenius, the UniVerona recreation of the NASA RAMS system. Nevertheless, theis concept images still look a lot different:

According to a recent interview with CEO and founder Dr. De Novi: ",,It is equally important for us to develop the medical technologies needed to assure the well-being of people on such a long and perilous journey. Our name shows exactly what we are aiming for:“X” in the name “XSurgical” refers to “what hasn’t been done yet.” 

Advancements are now under way to bring surgical robotic solutions as close as the firing line, shortening the vital time lapse between wound and heal. The methodology — one that has received strong reviews from key experts in the military and the U.S. Department of Defense — would allow surgical robots to perform both minimally invasive and open surgery, guided by surgeons from remote locations. This solution brings together components of technologies already CE marked with a native design for field operations.

The remote methodology is composed of a plurality of surgical units; each unit maintains a base with 1° of freedom (DoF), an anthropomorphous robotic arm with seven DoFs; an end-effector, mounted at the arm wrist, carrying three actuators that drive the surgical tool, and a three DoFs surgical tool. Moreover, the first six DoFs of the arm are provided with torque sensing. Its weight is limited to less than 300 lb in order for the parts to be deployed in the operational theater and the size is deployable with normal military vehicles. Each surgical tool is comprised of a distal component, a rod and an interface component.

The digital component is the actual surgical tool: i.e., grasper, scissors, dissector. It has two rotational joints in order to orient the tool's tip around two perpendicular axes and to open and close its jaws.

This work in progress is being developed with artificial intelligence (AI) to make the technology fully autonomous. It will have many capabilities well suited to environments outside the surgical suite in terms of sensitivity, flexibility, size, and cost efficiencies. Movement scaling is expected to exceed 10 times the accuracy of standard surgical robots, it provides enhanced vision and navigation and high dexterity (10 DoF) allows for ease to learn and operate.

In terms of flexibility, the advanced surgical robot soon headed to market is modular in design for easy and swift setup; makes multi-quadrant procedures possible; can execute both laparoscopic and open procedures with microsurgery precision; contains sensors and software to simplify coordination of movements; is compact and light enough for movement to another operating site within minutes.

Coming in at a cost of 50 percent less per procedure than the standard da Vinci method, the remote technology can perform 5–10 times higher the number of procedures per tool and can be used in virtually in any procedure."

 
Source: Medical Design Briefs, Robotics Tomorrow