Sony has unveiled a groundbreaking microsurgery assistance robot designed to revolutionize surgical procedures. This innovative robot, developed by Sony’s R&D team, offers automatic surgical instrument exchange and precision control, enabling it to work with microscopes to operate on extremely small tissues like veins and nerves. One of the key features of this robot is its ability to replicate the movements of a surgeon’s hands and fingers using a highly sensitive control device. This allows for smooth operation similar to the movement of the human wrist, enhancing precision and control during surgery.
The development of this robot addresses practical challenges faced by conventional surgical assistant robots, such as interruptions and delays in surgery due to manual instrument exchange. Sony’s system allows for the automatic exchange of surgical instruments, minimizing disruptions and streamlining the surgical process. The need for such advanced technologies is underscored by the challenges faced by the medical field, including a shrinking workforce due to an aging society and an increased workload for medical practitioners. Surgical robots like Sony’s microsurgery assistance robot have the potential to reduce surgeon workloads and promote the spread of advanced medical services.
In a recent experiment conducted by Aichi Medical University, non-specialist surgeons and medical practitioners successfully used Sony’s prototype to perform microvascular anastomosis on animal blood vessels with a diameter of approximately 0.6 mm.
This achievement marks the world’s first case of microvascular anastomosis using a surgical assistance robot with an automatic instrument exchange function. The prototype of Sony’s microsurgery assistance robot will be showcased at ICRA2024 in Yokohama, starting on May 13th.
