Video of the week: wearable robotic system for keyhole surgery

The system, which is being developed by a team led by Prof. Sanja Dogramadzi at Bristol Robotics Laboratory and the University of West England (UWE Bristol), is based on a sensor-equipped exoskeleton that picks up the movement of the surgeon’s hands and fingers.

This information is then transmitted to flexible surgical instruments capable of mimicking this movement, while virtual reality glasses give the surgeon a three-dimensional view inside the patient.

Minimally invasive procedures offer a range of benefits to patients including reduced blood loss, fewer infections and faster recovery. Robot-assisted surgery has increased the number of procedures that can be performed minimally invasively, but until now the technology’s use has been limited by the rigid instruments associated with it, according to Dogramadzi.

The €4m research project, funded by the European Commission under the HORIZON 2020 scheme, will develop more flexible instruments, with greater levels of articulation, said Dogramadzi.