Surgeons at Hadassah hospital in Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, recently have been operating on their patients using a robot.
This is an upgrade of the original surgical robot, which was originally developed by NASA scientists for operating on astronauts in space.
The robotic system includes 3 elements:
The first is the surgeon control station. It is a space ship like console – from which the surgeon controls the operation using 2 joysticks and a three dimension monitor.
The second element is the robot 4 arms, located above the patient. Three of the arms have a surgical tool on them, and the fourth includes a mini video camera which enables the surgeon (who sits at the console and does not stand by the operation table) to conduct the surgery.
The third element is a video system, which transfers data from the mini camera to the surgeon's station, and creates the 3 dimension view on the monitor.
"The main advantage of the surgical robot is that it enables the combination of the usual surgical approach (open abdomen), and the minimal invasive Laparoscopic approach" explains Dr. Yoav Mintz, a senior surgeon at Hadassah. "While the robot conducts a minimal invasive laparoscopic surgery (inserting the surgical tools through very small incisions in the abdomen), the three dimension system enables the surgeon to watch the entire abdomen cavity in front of him."
The robotic system enables the surgeons to operate free of limitations of tools, vision and movement. The surgical tools used in this procedure are much more flexible than the arm of the surgeon. An additional joint on each of the robot arms, further increases movement and adjustment range. The 3 dimension system frees the surgeon from the need to move to the other side of the operating table in order to reach the other side of the patient's body.
Hadassah senior physicians Dr. Yoav Mintz from the department of general surgery, and Prof. Ofer Gofrit from the department of urology have conducted so far 5 surgeries using a surgical robot.