da Vinci Surgical Robotic System 

Minimally invasive surgery, which utilizes robotic systems for life-enhancing care, is robotic surgery. In the last article I presented to you, the Tomai surgical robots, da Vinci robots are older than the Chinese Toumai robots. da Vince has had approvals long before Toumai robots. So, how are Toumai robots gaining popularity?  Toumai can perform remote surgeries, while da Vince does not; this can be a significant differentiator. However, remote surgeries need uninterrupted network connections. 

 

It began in the 1980s at SRI in California, where the system was developed. SRI developed a robot of interest to DARPA for use in operating on wounded soldiers in combat locations.  The da Vinci Surgical System’s intellectual property was acquired by Intuitive Surgical, founded in 1995, with its headquarters located in Sunnyvale, California. It uses minimally invasive surgical procedures by the da Vinci robots. The FDA cleared the da Vinci Surgical System in year 2000 for various procedures, including urologic, general laparoscopic, and gynaecologic procedures, among others. 

Computer Motion had its own robot, the ZEUS Robotic Surgical System, which the FDA did not initially approve. However, the two companies merged in the year 2003. 

 

The da Vinci Xi robot has three main parts:

1.      —Surgeon console:  From here, the surgeon controls the robot arms. Demos can be observed where surgeons are threading the skin, with some conducting practice sessions. Other demos online can be seen where surgeons perform some really challenging procedures while sitting in their consoles.  

2.      —Robot (Universal Surgical Manipulator): Four surgical arms with tiny instruments with wrists at the tip. It enables surgeons to perform complex procedures with an attached HD camera, providing a magnified 3D view.  These are mounted on the patient. From here, surgeons look into the cameras and operate the functions from Surgeon console. 

3.      —Visual cart: Image processing unit

 

These units are manufactured with utmost care and precision in their factories. Each process is defined, and everything is well tested.

 

However, my article here does not mean I give a full yes to robotic surgeries. Yes, they do help to reduce hand trembling and improve grip. Yes, in some cases, they are better, but I don’t think they can replace surgeons.  Still a lot of benchmarks to pass? Is it?

Thank you for reading.

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