Humanoid robots have successfully performed surgery for the first time, marking a major breakthrough in robotics and healthcare. This is one of the biggest steps towards using human-like robots in operating rooms.
The surgery was carried out with the help of surgeons from the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego). The team worked together to test whether humanoid robots could safely perform real surgical procedures, according to the report by Independent.
In the first operation, one humanoid robot successfully removed a gallbladder. The procedure is called a laparoscopic gallbladder removal, where surgeons operate through very small cuts using special instruments.
Humanoid robots complete two surgeries
In a second experiment, two humanoid robots worked together and completed another laparoscopic gallbladder removal. This showed that multiple robots can work side by side during surgery. Both surgeries were performed on non-primate mammals. The robots have not yet been tested on humans. The surgeries were proof-of-concept experiments. This means the researchers wanted to show that the technology can work before moving to future stages of testing.
Michael Yip, a professor in UC San Diego’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, called the study an important step for robotic surgery. He said the results show humanoid robots have a real future in surgery, as noted by Independent report.
Dr. Yip said remotely operated and autonomous humanoid robots could make surgeries available to more people. He believes they can help patients who currently cannot access important operations. He added that this technology could help solve healthcare shortages not only in the United States but across the world.
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Why humanoid robots could change surgery
Researchers said humanoid robots have several advantages over today’s specialised surgical robots. They believe these robots can perform many different medical tasks instead of just one type of surgery. The team said humanoid robots are much cheaper to build than many existing surgical robotic systems. This could reduce the cost of advanced healthcare. Researchers also said the robots require much less space inside an operating room. This makes them easier to install in hospitals with limited facilities.
Shanglei Liu, an assistant professor of surgery at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, operated the robot remotely during the study. The robot did not perform the surgery completely on its own.
Dr. Liu said the system costs only a fraction of current robotic surgery platforms and takes up much less room, according to Independent report. He said these robots could be used in rural hospitals where advanced medical equipment is often unavailable. Dr. Liu also said the robots could be deployed in battlefields during military operations. He added that the robots could even be useful for future space missions where human surgeons may not always be available.
How the Surgie robot works
The humanoid robots used in the study are nicknamed “Surgie.” At present, Surgie robots are controlled remotely by trained surgeons. This process is called teleoperation, where a human surgeon directs every movement.
Researchers hope future advances in artificial intelligence will allow these robots to perform surgeries more independently. Dr. Yip said one of the team’s biggest goals is to create an autonomous surgical assistant. He said many hospitals and communities face shortages of trained surgical staff, according to the report by Independent. As a result, many patients do not receive treatment on time.
Researchers imagine future operating rooms where human surgeons and humanoid robots work together as one team. They believe this teamwork could improve healthcare in hospitals as well as in emergency situations outside hospitals, such as disaster zones or field medicine. The research was published on Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature. The paper is titled “In vivo feasibility study of humanoid robots in surgery.”
