World’s first surgery using teleoperated humanoid robots conducted by US team
The study provides an evidence-based assessment of the current capabilities and limitations of humanoids for surgical applications. UCSD Researchers have achieved a world first by successfully using teleoperated humanoid robots to perform two surgeries during a preclinical trial. The procedures included a gallbladder removal completed by a human-robot team, with a surgeon assisting a humanoid robot, and a second operation carried out by two humanoid robots working together. Both surgeries were performed on large nonprimate mammals by a team at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). According to researchers, the milestone demonstrates the potential for teleoperated humanoid robots to support surgeons in operating rooms, with future applications ranging from surgical assistance to remotely performed procedures. Future surgical robots Teleoperated and autonomous humanoid robots could help address the global shortage of surgeons by expanding access to advanced surgical care, particularly in underserved regions where specialist medical services are limited. Their human-like form and versatility allow them to perform a broader range of clinical and support tasks than conventional robotic surgery platforms, making them suitable for hospitals, remote communities, disaster zones, and search-and-rescue operations. According to the team, current robotic surgery systems are highly specialized, typically featuring three or four robotic arms, proprietary software, and dedicated surgical instruments. Weighing around 1,800 pounds (816 kg), these systems require purpose-built operating rooms, extensive setup, and trained support staff, making them costly and difficult to deploy outside major medical centers. By contrast, the humanoid robots used in the study, called Surgie, stand about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and weigh only 60 pounds (27 kg). Their compact, mobile design allows them to operate within existing operating rooms without major infrastructure changes, making them more practical for resource-limited healthcare facilities. To enable surgical procedures, researchers equipped the robots with adapters that allowed them to use standard surgical instruments. The robots integrated smoothly into existing clinical workflows, and operators reported that their human-like controls felt more intuitive than those of traditional robotic surgery systems. UCSD team claims that in the preclinical trials, the teleoperated humanoid robots achieved surgical precision comparable to established robotic platforms, demonstrating that compact humanoid systems could deliver high-quality surgical performance while making advanced care more accessible in challenging environments. Teleoperated surgery progress While the study demonstrated the feasibility of teleoperated humanoid surgery, several technical challenges remain before the technology can be widely adopted. During the procedures, the robots required multiple recalibrations, increasing the overall operating time compared with conventional robotic surgical systems. Researchers noted that such limitations are common in the early stages of new surgical technologies, pointing out that the first robotic laparoscopic procedures once took several hours but have since been reduced to around 30 minutes through continued refinement. Another challenge is communication latency—the delay between a surgeon’s control inputs and the robot’s movements. Reducing this delay will be critical as researchers work toward enabling long-distance teleoperated surgeries in remote and underserved communities. Beyond performing surgical procedures, the team envisions humanoid robots taking on a broader role in operating rooms. Their ability to walk and manipulate objects could allow them to retrieve surgical instruments, assist medical staff with routine tasks, and clean operating rooms after procedures, improving workflow and reducing the burden on healthcare teams. “Our goal is an operating theater of the future, where humanoid robots and humans work side by side as an integrated team to deliver procedures to those in need, both in traditional hospital settings as well as in nontraditional, field medicine scenarios,” said Michael Yip, a faculty member in the UCSD Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and one of the paper’s senior authors, in a statement published in Medical Xpress.
Source: Interesting Engineering