Duke University researchers demonstrate robot 'surgeon'

The Duke team combined a version of an existing robot arm with an ultrasound system of its own design. The ultrasound serves as the robot’s eyes by collecting data from its scan and locating its target.

The robot is not controlled by a physician but by an artificial intelligence program that takes real-time 3D information, processes it and then gives the robot specific commands to perform. The robot arm has a mechanical hand that can manipulate the same biopsy plunger device that physicians use to reach a lesion and take samples.

The robot guided the plunger to eight different locations on simulated prostate tissue in 93 per cent of its attempts. This is important because multiple samples can also determine the extent of any lesion, said Smith.

He believes that routine medical procedures, such as biopsies in other tissues in the body, will be performed in the future with minimal human guidance, and at greater convenience and less cost to patients.