Presentation
Surgical Robotics
 
Robotics enables surgery to be less invasive and/or to enhance the performance of the surgeon. In minimally invasive surgery (MIS) , robotics can improve the dexterity of conventional instruments, which is restricted by the insertion ports, by adding intra-cavity degrees of freedom. It can also provide the surgeon with augmented visual and haptic inputs. In open surgery, robotics makes it possible to use in real time pre-operative and per-operative images to improve precision and reproducibility when cutting, drilling, milling bones, to locate accurately and remove tumours… In both cases, robotics allows the surgeon to perform more precise, reproducible and dextrous motion. It is also a promising solution to minimize his fatigue and to restrict his exposition to radiation. For the patient, robotics surgery may result in less risks, pain and discomfort, as well as a shorter recovery time. These benefits explain the increasing research efforts made all over the world since the early 90's.
Surgical robotics requires great skills in many engineering fields as the integration of robots in the operating room is technically difficult. It induces new problems such as safety, man-machine cooperation, real time sensing and processing, mechanical design, force and vision-based control… However, it is very promising as a mean to improve conventional surgical procedures as well as providing innovative new ones, in MIS, micro-surgery and image-guided therapy.
The highly interdisciplinary nature of surgical robotics requires close cooperation between medical staff and researchers in mechanics, computer technology, control and electrical engineering. This cooperation has resulted in many prototypes for a wide variety of surgical procedures. A few robotics systems are now available on a commercial basis and have entered the operating room namely in neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery and MIS.
Depending on the application, surgical robotics gets more or less deeply into the following fields: multi-modal information processing; modelling of rigid and deformable anatomical parts; pre-surgical planning and simulation of robotic interventions; design and control of guiding systems for assistance of the surgeon gesture. These fields will be addressed by surgeons and researchers working in leading hospitals and labs. Insight into practical integration problems will be widely covered.
This course is addressed to PhD students, post-docs and researchers already involved in the area or interested by the new challenges of such an emerging area interconnecting technology and surgery. Basic background in mechanical, computer science, control and electrical engineering is recommended.
This Summer School follows a first edition held in 2003, also in Montpellier, which had been considered at the time as a success by both the participants and the lecturers (http://www.lirmm.fr/manifs/UEE/accueil.htm).
 
 
Content
 
The lectures will be organized in three parts:

- Fundamental aspects of Surgical Robotics (2 days): medical imaging, modelling, force and vision-based control, design and safety, planning and registration;
- Applications (3 days): technical point of view (from design to experiment); surgical point of view (orthopaedics and MIS); industrial point of view;
- Future trends (1 day): perspectives in small size robots and mechatronics devices for surgery and therapy.

Time will be reserved for the participants to present their own research work. A visit of the LIRMM will also be organized.
 
 
Lectures and school materials
 
All lectures will be given in English. Copies of the Lecturers' slides will be available at the time of the class. All the School material (including slides of students' presentations) will be available at the end of September on the website of the LIRMM together with copies of significant papers of the lecturers as well as videos.
 
 
ECTS
 
The 36-hour course of the Summer University will be recognized by the Doctoral School on Information, Systems and Structure (I2S) of the University of Montpellier II (a Doctoral School in the French Universities manages the Ph.D. degree). 4 ECTS credit points will be awarded to student attendees.
 
 
Accomodation
 
The lectures will be given in the "Centre Régional de Documentation Pédagogique", which is located downtown Montpellier (see Map). The lodging will be provided in a residence where apartments will be shared by two or three participants. The residence is at 10' walking from downtown and from the lecture room, and can also be easily accessed by tramway.
 
 
Admission
 
The number of participants is restricted to 40. Priority will be given to Ph.D. students and Post-docs from the European Community but a limited number of researchers and professionals, as well as students from extra-EC countries will be accepted.
Applicants must fill the application form (available here) by June 15th , 2005 . A scientific committee will select the candidates. A letter of confirmation will be sent to accepted participants.
The lodging expenses will be partially supported by the organizers depending on funding, the complement being provided by themselves. The travel will be at the participant own expenses. The organizers will offer the lunches, as well as the welcome and closing receptions, and the sightseeing tour.

For further administrative information, please contact :
- Céline Berger, LIRMM, berger@lirmm.fr

For further scientific information, please contact :
- Etienne Dombre, LIRMM, dombre@lirmm.fr
or
- Philippe Poignet, LIRMM, poignet@lirmm.fr