Surgery is a field rife with innovation. New techniques, new technology, plus new ways of using existing techniques or technology, there’s always something new brewing in regards to advancements in this sector. Developments in optical imaging, robotics, artificial intelligence, IoT, virtual reality, and other high-tech advances contribute to greater precision and less invasive surgical techniques; the field is optimized to improve surgical outcomes by a significant measure in the near future. Here are just a few of the top innovations in surgery currently in use around the country.
- A True MARVEL for Brain Surgery
- The Multi Angle Rear Viewing Endoscopic tooL or MARVEL is an endoscope with a miniscule 3-D camera attached
- The camera is only four millimeters in diameter and 15 millimeters in length
- MARVEL is designed for minimally invasive brain surgery
- The technology emulates other stereo imaging endoscopes that are presently used for minimally invasive surgery in different parts of the body
- The tool has provided hope that will enable surgeons to perform very intricate and complex surgery in a minimally invasive manner
- Smart Surgical Glasses: Making Surgery Smarter
- Smart glasses have been around since 2012, but their use in the operating room still needs refining
- These glasses use a “mixed reality method”
- Researchers hope that Smart Surgical Glasses will soon become a fixed object in orthopedic surgery and other types of surgeries.
- Smart glasses are essentially small computers, which include a head-mounted screen and video camera, and can be connected to the internet or other computers
- Remote observation during surgeries by live video streaming, can be done with this tool
- This will provide important images to surgeons during the procedures
- Live stream video is being used for training classrooms, and recording procedures
- Remote experts and trainees can record from their point of view, push diagrams, and charts to their eyes, and annotate that material in real time
- Surgical Robots with Artificial Intelligence: Integrating Robotics and AI
- Since the invention of the da Vinci surgical robot 15 years ago, inventors have continued to develop surgical robots that can perform increasingly precise movements
- In the second generation of these robots scientists suggest that there will be a huge influence of Artificial Intelligence
- These new robots are able to collect and analyze data
- Robotics and AI are removing the human constraints and physical limitations on surgery and placement of innovative medicines
- With ultra-high resolution robotic assistance, we can now consider the optimal site to place stem cells in the eye, brain, heart to drive regeneration
- AI eliminates the restrictions inherent in a human being driving a robotic arm
- Remote robotics
- While telemedicine and robotics are nothing new, remote surgery is taking these concepts a few steps further
- Surgeons may soon be using robots to assist with surgery from a remote location
- This could help expand surgery options for patients living in remote areas
- The Mayo Clinic is working on a clinical study to examine the possibilities of robot-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), a process dubbed “telestenting”
