Telerobotics: Its Future in Clinical Application

Abstract

Telerobotic surgery is in its infancy with respect to applications and advanced technology. Telerobotic surgery introduces a communication link between the surgical console and the robot. The surgeon can be anywhere. The current robotic iteration, the da Vinci robot (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA), provides numerous advantages over conventional laparoscopy, yet is restrictive in its size, its lack of interoperability between remote locations/users, its paucity of patient feedback to the surgeon, and its cost. In the last 5 years, research in telerobotic surgery has spawned smaller, portable, less expensive, and more “open” telesurgical platforms. Clinicians and engineers have honed their requirements for the next generation of surgical robots and surgeons have begun to branch out into open surgical applications. Some of the hurdles to dissemination of improved robotic surgical capabilities are not just technical; they are logistical, regulatory, proprietary, and clinical. A major factor in the advancement of telesurgical technology is demonstrating comparative effectiveness; is robotic surgery indeed more beneficial for not only the patient, but also health industry as a whole? We seek to highlight both the technical and clinical advancements and challenges of current and future telerobotic surgery.