Back To Top
- In Introduction to Surgical Robotics with E. de Momi: From the Renaissance barber to the autonomous robot for a safer surgery
-
Abstract: The lecture will narrate the progress of surgery in time in order to show how robots could answer to the surgeon needs for a safer intervention, from open surgery, to minimally invasive and endoluminal approaches. The span of possible tasks performed by robots have increased during the years, as well as their capabilities of performing actions without supervision, sometimes offering super-human capabilities. To do so, computer vision, advanced control and ergonomics methodologies play a fundamental role. How can surgeons of tomorrow effectively benefit from their robot companion?
- In Visual servoing (part I & 2) with F. Nageotte: Positioning and controlling medical robots from images: Robot registration and visual servoing applied to medical robotics
-
Abstract: Most of medical procedures are realized by relying on medical images. Pre-operative images allow to plan the procedure before entering the operating room. Intra-operative images are used by the physician to guide the gesture during the intervention.
Medical images also play a key role when the hand of the surgeon is replaced or extended by a robotic instrument. In some cases, such as orthopedic procedures, pre-operative images are used to compute the target configuration of the robotic arm holding the tool through a process specific to medical applications called robot registration. In other cases, such as in laparoscopic surgery, images coming from endoscopic cameras can be used to guide the movement of the robotic arm, either as a visual feedback provided to the medical user or directly to the robotic system, thus allowing vision-based control of the device.
In the first lecture (Part I), I will present the concepts of medical robot registration and highlight its limited flexibility for taking into account intra-operative variability. I will then present the concepts of visual servoing and introduce the two most common approaches, namely Position-based visual servoing (PBVS) and Image-based visual servoing (IBVS). I will try to emphasize the practical limitations and issues encountered when working with standard cameras and with other imaging devices used in medical applications.
In the second lecture (Part II) we will focus on some more advanced techniques that are relevant for medical applications: handling unknown scenes, identifying interaction matrices and ensuring accurate reference tracking and disturbance rejection. All along the presentation I will show use cases in medical robotics developments.
.
- In Technical I with J. Desai: Robotic Transcatheter Delivery of Mitral Valve Implant
-
Abstract: Mitral regurgitation is a common heart valve disease. Current approaches for mitral valve repair include open heart surgery (which carries the risk of post-operative complications) and transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR). TMVR is a relatively new approach that is performed on a beating heart using a catheter that is guided to the target location to implant the device to reduce or eliminate mitral regurgitation. Given the tortuosity of the path that needs to be taken to reach the mitral valve, TMVR is a clinically challenging procedure. This talk will focus on our work in developing a highly articulated, intravascular meso-scale robot that can be guided to deploy the mitral valve implant under image guidance.
- In Technical II with E. Vander Poorten: Knowing and Controlling The Flexible
-
Abstract: Flexible and steerable instruments are increasingly being considered for both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Examples of such devices are flexible endoscopes, steerable needles, concentric tube system, steerable guidewires and catheters. Their small form factor (mainly diameter) allows them to access deeply seated locations in a less traumatic fashion. Their flexible nature ensures a certain level of safety as stresses on tissues can be limited. Efficient and effective use of flexible and steerable devices is nevertheless not straightforward due to the complex behaviour that is being displayed when they move through a complex anatomy. This talk aims to establish a bridge between basic technological and robotic concepts and the treatment of flexible steerable devices. The talk discusses actuation, sensing and modeling aspects that are relevant supported by some relevant use cases.
- In Technical III with P. Renaud: Additive manufacturing to explore the design of surgical robots
-
Abstract: Additive manufacturing opens up many new prospects for designers. At the same time, the design of surgical robots remains a challenge, with problems such as compactness, stiffness management for interaction, or compatibility with medical imagers. In this presentation, the added value and some of the limitations of design based on additive manufacturing are addressed through examples of devices developed within the ICube laboratory in Strasbourg. In particular, the possibilities offered by multi-material additive manufacturing, and the challenges and prospects offered by silicone printing will be discussed. Particular attention is paid to the case of interventional radiology, where compatibility with MRI can be addressed through the design of original mechanical and mechatronic components and systems.
- In Technical IV with T. Morimoto: Flexible Surgical Robots: Design, Sensing, and Control
-
Abstract: Flexible and soft medical robots offer capabilities beyond those of conventional rigid-link robots due to their ability to traverse confined spaces and conform to highly curved paths. They also offer potential for improved safety due to their inherent compliance. In this talk, I will present several new robot designs for various surgical applications. In particular, I will discuss our work on soft, growing robots that achieve locomotion by material extending from their tip. I will discuss limitations in miniaturizing such robots, along with methods for actively steering, sensing, and controlling them. Finally, I will also discuss new approaches for sensing, haptic feedback, and human-in-the-loop control that are aimed at improving the performance of flexible surgical robots.
- In Technical V with P. Jannin: Surgical Skill Analysis with Surgical Data Science.
-
Abstract: With about 250 millions of surgical procedures worldwide per year, surgical quality is a crucial societal issue. Increasing surgical quality may occur through the whole perioperative process from diagnosis, strategy decision, planning, performance and post-operative evaluation, as well as through initial and continuous learning. Computer assistance is required at each step. In the presentation, I will present how such objectives can be addressed by studying and understanding surgical skills, following the surgical data science methodology. I will illustrate such approach by examples covering different aspects of surgical skills from technical to non-technical ones, such as the evaluation of surgical procedural skills, the development of a surgical simulation system for training procedural skills based on an interactive and collaborative virtual reality environment and the study of how skills are correlated with performance and outcome.
- In Technical VI with C. Riviere: Compensation of physiological motion for robotic surgery.
-
Abstract: Involuntary quasi-periodic physiological motion hinders accurate manipulation during surgery. The problem in some cases is motion of the patient (e.g., heartbeat, respiration), in other cases, motion of the surgeon (e.g., hand tremor). Accuracy can be improved by robotic compensation of the physiological motion. This talk will describe both active and passive techniques for compensation of all of the above disturbances in a variety of types of surgery, enabling more accurate tool positioning and thereby improved efficacy and reduced collateral damage to tissue. The talk will review relevant research in the field, and will also highlight related research in the Surgical Mechatronics Laboratory (SML) of the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon, including Micron, which performs active compensation of the physiological hand tremor of microsurgeons, and HeartLander and HeartPrinter, systems that perform passive compensation of heartbeat and respiratory motion for accuracy enhancement in cardiac surgery.
- In Future trends in surgical robotics I with A. Menciassi: Surgical robotics to the small size: actuation and control challenges.
-
Abstract: Surgical robots (such as Da Vinci like systems) can make easy traditional minimally invasive surgical procedures, or can make more precise surgical tasks thanks to navigation and image guidance solutions. The trend now is treating hard-to-reach areas of the human body in a scarless way, by using endoluminal tools or by exploiting robots for guiding energy beams deep into the human body. For reaching the small scale and being targeted, huge efforts have to be spent in the actuation mechanisms, also exploiting wireless actuation solutions, such as magnetic fields, or flexible and soft-robotic components, featured by intrinsic safety. On top of that, the lecture will present also the main issues behind a safe and effective tracking of microrobotic devices for targeted therapy, which still lack of effective localization and tracking means.
- In Medical I with E. Stindel: Optimizing TKA, how information processing helps since more than 20 years
-
Abstract: In the field of orthopedics, surgeons put their hands on computer aided devices (3D localizers, robots…) at the beginning of century. In this presentation we will travel in time and see how, 23 years later, we can really make a new breakthrough in the field thanks to the integration of mature technologies together with real innovations. The FollowKnee project will serve as an example in which we redefine every step of knee implants surgery from pre-op data acquisition to post-operative follow up, trough implant design and intra-operative procedure.
- In Technical VII with L. Lindenroth: Parallel soft robots for medical interventions
-
Abstract: Soft robotics is an exponentially growing field that holds immense promise for medicine. It involves the development of flexible and adaptable robotic systems that can effortlessly interact with patients. By leveraging soft materials and advanced control algorithms, soft robots offer the potential to revolutionize medical interventions, addressing existing challenges and improving patient outcomes. In this lecture I will introduce soft robotics in medicine, present challenges in existing designs and demonstrate through two use cases, namely extracorporeal ultrasound scanning and endoluminal tool guidance, how, with the help of parallel topologies, some of these challenges have been alleviated.
- In Technical VIII with R. Taylor: Human-Machine Partnerships in Computer-Integrated Interventional Medicine: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
-
Abstract: This talk will discuss insights gathered over nearly thirty years of research on medical robotics and computer-integrated interventional medicine (CIIM), both at IBM and at Johns Hopkins University. The goal of this research has been the creation of a three-way partnership between physicians, technology, and information to improve treatment processes. CIIM systems combine innovative algorithms, robotic devices, imaging systems, sensors, and human-machine interfaces to work cooperatively with surgeons in the planning and execution of surgery and other interventional procedures. For individual patients, CIIM systems can enable less invasive, safer, and more cost-effective treatments. Since these systems have the ability to act as “flight data recorders” in the operating room, they can enable the use of statistical methods to improve treatment processes for future patients and to promote physician training. We will illustrate these themes with examples from our past and current work, with special attention to the human-machine partnership aspects, and will offer some thoughts about future research opportunities and system evolution.
- In Technical IX with M. Tavakoli: Human-robot collaboration for Robotics-Assisted Medicine
-
Abstract: Surgical, therapeutic, diagnostic, and rehabilitative interventions can be significantly enhanced using computer-integrated robotic systems with real-time decision-making capabilities that work under the direct, shared, or supervisory control of medical professionals (surgeons, therapists and physicians). Incorporating appropriate levels of autonomy in systems for healthcare delivery can lower the mental and physical loads on clinicians while improving the reliability, precision and safety of the interventions for patients. For example, an autonomous system can help to build computerized models of a medical intervention, learned through demonstration by human experts, and transfer the learned skills to a robot that provides intelligent assistance to surgeons or therapists. In this seminar, Dr. Mahdi Tavakoli, a Professor at the University of Alberta, discusses several applications of medical robotics and their related challenges, and offers solutions based on combining the capabilities of humans with the precision, accuracy, and fast decision-making capabilities of machines.
- In Future trends in surgical robotics II with P. Fiorini: From text to action: a cognitive pipeline for autonomous surgical tasks.
-
Abstract: The current research on robotic surgery is mostly focused on the development of new instruments, sensors and algorithms to better perform an intervention. The concepts related to making an intervention autonomous are progressing slowly in robotic surgery, but they will eventually take center stage because of their relevance to many aspects, e.g. telesurgery, cognitive support, introduction to AI methods, etc.
In this lecture I will briefly summarize the results of the ARS (Autonomous Robotic Surgery) project in the standard robotic fields, and focus on knowledge extraction from data and from text. This step is fundamental to transfer the human knowledge to the surgical robot and to make it capable of unambiguous interaction with the human.