Robot-assisted surgery to improve cancer procedures

The robot-assisted surgery technique – pioneered by the National Robotarium, industry partners and Edinburgh-based clinicians - has been awarded £1.25m by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. It will be used during robotic surgery to help decide how much of the patient’s tissue is affected by cancer and should be removed. The new method will provide surgeons with real-time feedback, allowing for greater precision when differentiating normal from abnormal tissue.

The outer rim of tissue which the surgeon chooses to remove is called the ‘surgical margin’, which is identified using the surgeon's experience, preoperative imaging visual observations and, in open surgery, tactile 'feel'. Another method involves sending specimens during the operation to the pathology lab for ‘frozen section’ which takes 15-20 minutes. When undertaking ‘keyhole surgery’ using laparoscopic, endoscopic or robotic operations, surgeons can’t use 'feel' to determine tissue characteristics.