Robotic System Used in Beating Heart Surgery

Surgeons used the three-arm robot during the most important part of the operation: when the artery being used as the bypass graft was connected to the heart's main coronary artery.

The operation is part of a national multicenter trial seeking to evaluate the use and safety of the Zeus Robotic Surgical System (Computer Motion, Santa Barbara, CA, USA) for connecting the left internal mammary artery graft to the left anterior descending artery. The system was previously used in 32 patients as part of a phase 1 trial but in all of those cases, the operation involved the use of a heart/lung machine while surgeons operated on a stopped heart.

One arm of the robot, responding to voice commands, positions the endoscope, while the surgeon controls the action of surgical instruments by operating handles in much the same way that joysticks are used to control the action of a video game. Hand tremor is filtered by the computer and translated via robotic arms into precise micro movements. Computer Motion says robotics and computers provide enhanced dexterity, steady visualization, and improved ergonomics for the surgeon.

"It is anticipated that the future will soon see all cardiac procedures employing such technology, and surgery will become less and less invasive for the patient,” said Bartley P. Griffith, M.D., professor of surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.



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