Robot-Assisted Transurethral Resectoscope Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current transurethral surgery techniques face challenges due to limited field of view and lack of global understanding, leading to incomplete resections, tissue damage, and labor-intensive procedures, with surgeons being at risk of contamination and exposure to body fluids.
Innovation Solution
A robot-assisted system for transurethral surgery that includes a display device, human-computer interaction device, resectoscope with an electrified wire loop, resectoscope holding device, and a six-degree-of-freedom mechanical arm, allowing for remote and precise control of the resectoscope through a workstation, enabling remote surgery and reducing surgeon labor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a surgeon manually manipulates the resectoscope during transurethral surgery, then the surgeon can directly control the cutting loop, but the surgeon is exposed to patient body fluids and the surgery consumes a lot of labor
Solution Approach 1:
A robotic system acts as an intermediary between the surgeon and the resectoscope. The surgeon operates the resectoscope remotely through a robotic arm controlled via a control console, eliminating direct manual manipulation. This intermediary robotic system transmits the surgeon's commands to precisely position and maneuver the resectoscope and cutting loop while keeping the surgeon isolated from patient body fluids and reducing physical labor.
2Productivity
If the surgeon frequently adjusts the position and orientation of the resectoscope to cut pathological tissues in different directions, then the resection can be more thorough, but the limited field of view and lack of global understanding lead to incomplete resections and tissue damage
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system incorporates real-time feedback mechanisms through integrated imaging systems (such as optical coherence tomography or fluorescence imaging) that provide the surgeon with enhanced visualization and global understanding of the surgical site. The system continuously monitors the position of the cutting loop relative to pathological tissues and provides feedback signals to guide precise adjustments, ensuring complete resections while avoiding damage to adjacent healthy tissues.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from traditional two-dimensional endoscopic visualization to multi-dimensional imaging and positioning capabilities. The robotic arm provides six-degree-of-freedom movement, enabling precise spatial control of the resectoscope in three-dimensional space, while advanced imaging technologies add functional and molecular dimensions to the field of view, allowing the surgeon to comprehend the surgical site from multiple perspectives simultaneously.
3Ease of operation
If the surgeon sits adjacent to the patient to perform surgery, then direct control is possible, but the surgeon is susceptible to contamination by patient body fluid
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system serves as a physical intermediary that separates the surgeon from the patient. The surgeon operates from a remote control console located away from the patient, communicating commands to the robotic arm through electronic signals. This intermediary system maintains direct control capability while eliminating the surgeon's exposure to patient body fluids and contamination risks.
4Productivity
If manual surgery is performed with frequent adjustments of resectoscope position, then pathological tissues can be targeted, but the surgery consumes a lot of labor and time
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system incorporates automated functions that perform routine tasks without continuous manual intervention. The robotic arm automatically maintains optimal positioning of the resectoscope, and integrated imaging systems automatically track and highlight pathological tissues. The system can autonomously adjust parameters such as cutting loop current intensity and resectoscope orientation based on real-time feedback, reducing the surgeon's labor and shortening surgery duration while maintaining high surgical efficiency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances surgical safety and precision while reducing the physical strain and exposure risks for surgeons by enabling remote operation and precise control of the resectoscope, improving the accuracy of surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
a resectoscope including an electrified wire loop (cutting loop), the resectoscope is communicatively connected to the workstation and for transmitting acquired image information to the workstation and controlling a current intensity of the electrified wire loop
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a robot-assisted system for transurethral surgery, including: a display device, a human-computer interaction device for acquiring operation instructions input by a surgeon, a resectoscope, a resectoscope holding device, a six-degree-of-freedom series-connected mechanical arm for driving the resectoscope holding device to move forward and backward along an axis of the resectoscope, rotate around a central axis of the resectoscope and rotate around a preset point on the central axis of the resectoscope, and a workstation which serves as a control core.