Robin Heart - Perspectives of Application of Mini Invasive Tools in Cardiac Surgery

Robot invented for less, minimally invasive cardiac surgery is a computer-controlled device, located between surgeon's hands and the tip of a surgical instrument. Basic requirements for this device are first of all high reliability, stable operative field of view, direct surgeon control and high level of precision. The Robin Heart® is a Europe's first heart surgery robot system with whole, original Polish design. Precise and optimally adapted to the surgeon's manual dexterity, it also helps him make the right decisions. Around 4 million minimally-invasive surgeries are performed in the world every year. The procedures are performed by means of special instruments inserted through small incisions in the patient's body. The aim is to limit the operative field and protect surrounding tissue, which could be damaged if a traditional surgical technique was used. The number of endoscopic procedures, less invasive than traditional surgery, performed through natural orifices in the patient's body, or through special openings called ports, is on the rise. The success of the procedures largely depends on the instruments used. Unfortunately, typical endoscopic (laparoscopic) instruments reduce precision and make the surgery more difficult because they add to hand tremor and almost completely eliminate the natural sense of touch. Additionally, the surgeon does not have a direct view of the operative field-a camera inserted into the body through a third opening transmits the image to a display. So the surgeon's task is not easy. An ideal non-invasive surgery can be compared to the house renovation through a keyhole without disturbing the household members. Across the world, physicians and engineers are working to develop increasingly effective instruments to enable surgery with the use of the latest technology. But how can one enhance instrument precision and maneuverability, which are so important in the case of surgery on the beating heart, for instance? Surgical robots provide such capabilities. In Poland, an interdisciplinary team led by Prof. Zbigniew Religa already introduced modern devices to clinical practice to save the lives of heart patients. An artificial heart, prosthetic heart valves and recently a surgical robot are the results of projects carried out by the Biocybernetics Laboratory of the Heart Prosthesis Institute, a research center run by the O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w .ite ch on lin e. co m