Internet page
Keywords: Robots, Medical, Healthcare
http://www.me.ic.ac.uk/case/mim/The Mechatronics in Medicine Laboratory – Imperial College
Research into medical robotics for neurosurgery at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College began in 1985. This led to the world’s first robot for prostate surgery, which in 1991 actively removed tissue from a human patient in an operating theatre. The Mechatronics in Medicine Laboratory was established in 1993 as part of the Computer Aided Systems Engineering Section, to research and develop robotic and mechatronic aids to surgery. The group have developed robotic and mechatronic applications for use in urological surgery and training systems, neurosurgery, orthopaedics, high intensity focused ultrasound and blood sampling.
This is a good university site, which contains lots of information about their current projects and a good set of research papers.
http://www.armstrong-healthcare.comArmstrong Healthcare Limited
Armstrong Healthcare has developed robots for use in many areas of healthcare including surgery, patient handling, rehabilitation and independent living. Since 1995 they have specialised in surgical robots and are a leading supplier of intelligent medical robotics for surgery.
Their current products include: PathFinder, a new image-guided robot for neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery, which positions surgical instruments with millimetre accuracy on targets selected from a CT or MR scan; EndoAssist, a laparoscopic robot that provides a “third hand” enabling a single surgeon to perform minimally invasive operations that otherwise need two people;and OrthoTrack, a precision localiser for bone and joint surgery.
This page contains the abstract for a paper titled “Flexible, Low-mass Robotic Arm Actuated by Electroactive Polymers and Operated Equivalently to Human Arm and Hand”. It was presented at Robotics 98 – the 3rd Conference and Exposition/Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Environments, held on 26-30 April, 1998, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
http://www.ndigital.com/index.htmlNorthern Digital, Inc.
Northern Digital, Inc. is a Canadian company, which specialises in the design and development of optical 3D and magnetic measurement technologies. Their products enable part inspection without stopping the production line and ensure quality control at every stage of the manufacturing process. As medical system suppliers their technology gives surgeons unprecedented capabilities in image-guided surgery, allowing smaller, less invasive incisions and dramatically reducing recovery times. These products include the POLARIS and OPTOTRAK optical guidance systems.
This site is well presented and provides useful product information.
http://www.animatedprosthetics.com/Animated Prosthetics, Inc.
Animated Prosthetics, Inc., designs and manufactures microcomputer based control systems and other components for upper-limb prosthetics.
This is a very interesting site that contains information regarding artificial limbs, useful links, articles and video clips.
http://www.ior.it/biomec/The Biomechanics Laboratory
Established in 1991, the Biomechanics Laboratory at Rizzoli Orthopaedics Institute, researches into the applicability of new technologies for orthopaedic surgery. Their research has included computer based techniques and robotics in orthopaedic surgery, and biomechanics of the human musculo-skeletal system. The laboratory is the result of collaboration between its researchers and the ARTS Lab (Advanced Robotics Technology and Systems Laboratory) at Sant’Anna School of University Studies and Doctoral Research, Pisa.
http://www.intuitivesurgical.com/home.htmlIntuitive Surgical, Inc.
The da Vinci Surgical System developed by Intuitive Surgical, Inc., is the first totally “intuitive” laparoscopic surgical robot in existence. Currently there are more than 115 da Vinci Systems are in use in major hospitals and surgical facilities throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. The company is committed to creating robotic technologies that enable surgeons to perform minimally invasive surgery (MIS) with an increased level of accuracy.
This is another good site which is well worth visiting.
Hot sites
http://www.men.bris.ac.uk/research/medical/welcome.htmlBiomedical Mechatronics and Automation Laboratory
The Biomedical Mechatronics and Automation Laboratory is part of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bristol.
They are researching new methods and technologies in mechatronics for the benefit of medicine and surgery. The research is based on fundamental studies on sensing and actuation methods, automatic data interpretation, tissue behaviour,human-machine interaction, and automatic control strategies for non-rigid medium handling. Their research is currently focusing on how surgical tools interact with soft tissues and is the basis for development and implementation of tool simulators for soft tissue surgery.
This is a superb academic site that is well worth visiting. It contains details of their research and projects, publications, and links to other site of interest.
http://www.computermotion.comComputer Motion, Inc.
Founded in 1989, Computer Motion is based in Santa Barbara, California and develops, manufactures and markets proprietary computer and robotic surgical systems for the operating room. Their products include AESOP™ – a robot for precisely controlling an endoscope, the HERMES™ Control Centre and the ZEUS™ Robotic Surgical System. The HERMES™ Control Centre enables the surgeon to use simple voice commands to control a network of “smart”medical devices in the operating room and is designed as an open architecture software platform.
This site contains product and corporate information, news, link and video clips.
Jon Rigelsford
