UW surgeons test computer-assisted surgical equipment

For years, medical experts have anticipated that computer and robotics technology would revolutionize the hospital operating room. At UW Hospital and Clinics, that prediction is taking a giant step forward.

UW Hospital and Clinics is one of approximately 20 hospitals nationwide to test a new computer-assisted surgical system. Essentially, surgeons use a robot to guide their efforts in the operating room.

The group testing the system is headed by R.P. “Pat” Cochran, the chairman of the division of cardiothoracic surgery. As its name suggests, the computer doesn’t actually perform the surgical procedure; instead, it allows the surgeon more precise control.

Cochran’s team is hoping to prove that computer-assisted surgery results in less pain for the patient and a more speedy recovery.

“What it does is to allow me to accomplish, through smaller incisions, what I can do with my hands through larger holes,” he explains.

UW Hospital surgeons are currently using the system to prepare the mammary artery in preparation for standard heart bypass surgery. In the near future, Cochran and his colleagues expect to participate in a more extensive trial that will use the equipment to guide surgical repair of the heart’s mitral valve.

The robot actually consists of three parts: a voice-activated camera (code-named Aesop), the interface (code-named Hermes) and the robot itself (code-named Zeus).

Here’s how it works: A tube-mounted miniature camera is inserted into the patient through a tiny incision. Using voice commands, the surgeon can direct the camera view, zooming in and shifting to find the best angles; the images can then be saved and re-accessed for added convenience.

Sitting at a console, the surgeon performs the operation by manipulating a pair of tiny arms that terminate in handles resembling standard surgical tools. Surgeons practice using the robot for as many as 100 hours before using it on a patient.

Not surprisingly, Cochran is excited to find himself on the cutting edge of the future of medicine. “This technology opens huge doors of development, and UW Hospital is positioned nicely to take a leadership role,” Cochran says.

Cochran believes that eventually, the use of computer-assisted surgical equipment like Zeus will expand beyond cardiac procedures to include other types of surgery, including vascular and plastic. Within the next decade, he says, robotics systems in operating rooms will be commonplace — as will other technological improvements, including computerized simulators. “What we’re using today is the equivalent of a Model T,” Cochrane says. “In 10 years, we’ll all be driving Corvettes.”