With the development of capsule endoscopy, developing active capsule endoscopy robot becomes a growing trend. Although stomach diagnosis with robot has been put into clinical test, the realization of the complete intestinal capsule endoscopy is still a difficulty. This paper reports the status quo of the research process for intestinal capsule endoscopy robot, and analyzes their advantages, defects and prospects for development, which provides reference for the research of intestinal capsule endoscopy robot.
Capsule Endoscopy ; instrumentation ; Humans ; Intestines ; Robotics ; trends

Humans ; Robotics ; methods ; trends ; Vascular Surgical Procedures ; methods ; trends

Technology has become a major driver of the future direction of healthcare and surgery. Likewise, the speed of change has accelerated beyond comprehension, with a number of revolutions occurring during a surgeon's career. Being an agent of change or rapidly adapting to change has become the hallmark of the gifted surgeon. The fundamental challenges to a future surgeon are addressed from a technological viewpoint, with emphasis on the impact upon healthcare.
Biomedical Technology/education/ethics/*trends ; Education, Medical/trends ; General Surgery/trends ; Humans ; Medicine/trends ; Research/trends ; Robotics/trends

Medical robotics has played an increasingly important role in the recent years in robotics field. An overview of the minimally invasive surgery robots, rehabilitative robots and hospital service robots are offered here, and relevant tendencies are also referred to.
Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; instrumentation ; Robotics ; instrumentation ; trends

OBJECTIVERobot-assisted endoscopic surgery has been increasingly accepted because of its unique three-dimensional vision and precise simulation-based technology. However, the utilization of robotic systems in thyroid surgery is limited. We conducted a systematic review to assess the application and development of robot-assisted endoscopic surgical technique in thyroid surgery.

DATA SOURCESArticles published in PubMed before June, 2011 about robot-assisted endoscopic surgery were selected.

STUDY SELECTIONOriginal articles and critical reviews selected were related to robot-assisted (thyroid) surgery or endoscopic thyroid surgery, and a total of 3540 relevant articles were retrieved and 34 were finally cited.

RESULTSRobot-assisted operation of benign thyroid diseases were successfully performed, although the operation time is too long to exhibit its advantages. Nevertheless, the superiority of robot-assisted endoscopic surgical technique compared to conventional endoscopic surgery in the treatment of thyroid carcinoma were obvious, since robotic radical thyroidectomy with central and lateral neck lymph node dissection could be achieved while maintaining operative results and cosmetic outcomes equivalent to or better than conventional endoscopic surgery. Furthermore, the learning curve duration of robot-assisted endoscopic thyroid surgery was shorter than that of conventional endoscopy, especially for the novices without any endoscopic surgical basis.

CONCLUSIONRobot-assisted endoscopic thyroid surgery, with its safety, feasibility, thoroughness, cosmetic benefits, and ability to overcome the limitations of conventional endoscopic surgery, will be further improved and applied, and is worthy of attention.

Endoscopy ; methods ; trends ; Humans ; Robotics ; methods ; trends ; Thyroid Diseases ; surgery ; Thyroid Gland ; surgery ; Treatment Outcome

This paper introduces the recent study and development of an aided endoscopic surgical robot system, and discusses its future trends--teleoperative robot system and telesurgery system. In addition, their key technologies are analyzed here in the paper.
Angioscopy ; Endoscopy ; methods ; trends ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Robotics ; instrumentation ; trends ; Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; instrumentation ; Telemedicine ; instrumentation ; Thoracoscopy

Within six months of the discovery of X-ray in 1895, the technology was used to scan the interior of the human body, paving the way for many innovations in the field of medicine, including an ultrasound device in 1950, a CT scanner in 1972, and MRI in 1980. More recent decades have witnessed developments such as digital imaging using a picture archiving and communication system, computer-aided detection/diagnosis, organ-specific workstations, and molecular, functional, and quantitative imaging. One of the latest technical breakthrough in the field of radiology has been imaging genomics and robotic interventions for biopsy and theragnosis. This review provides an engineering perspective on these developments and several other megatrends in radiology.
Biological Markers/analysis ; Biomedical Engineering ; Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted/*trends ; Diagnostic Imaging/*trends ; Equipment Design ; Genomics ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/*trends ; Radiology Information Systems/*trends ; Robotics ; Systems Integration ; User-Computer Interface

Robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALRP) using the da Vinci surgical system is now in widespread use in many countries where economic conditions allow the installation of this expensive technology. Controversy has surrounded the procedure since it was first performed in 2000, with many critics highlighting the lack of evidence to support its use. However, despite the lack of level I evidence, many large studies of patients have confirmed that the procedure is feasible and safe, with low morbidity. Available longer-term oncological data seem to show that outcomes from the robotic approach at least match those of traditional open radical prostatectomy. Functional outcomes also seem satisfactory, although randomized controlled trials are lacking. This paper reviews the current status of RALRP with respect to perioperative data and complications and oncologic and functional outcomes.
Erectile Dysfunction ; etiology ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; methods ; trends ; Male ; Prostatectomy ; adverse effects ; instrumentation ; methods ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; surgery ; Robotics ; methods ; trends ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Incontinence ; etiology

PURPOSE: We analyzed changes to the trends of prostate cancer management and patient characteristics at a single institute during 5 years due to the significant increase of the prostate cancer incidence and the robotic equipment in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prostate cancer patient data from a single institute recorded from 2006 to 2010 were analyzed. Cancer stage, initial treatment modalities, and the pattern of outpatient clinical management were reviewed. RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2010, 386 prostate cancers were newly diagnosed at the institute. The proportion of localized and locally advanced cancer cases increased from 67% in 2006 to 79% in 2010 respectively. Among the treatment choices during follow-up in the out-patients clinic, the proportion of radical prostatectomies increased from 43% in 2006 to 62% in 2010. In contrast, the proportion of hormone therapies decreased from 58% to 37%. For initial treatment choice, radical prostatectomy was chosen for 59% of the patients who were newly diagnosed with cancer during the study period. However, hormone therapy alone was administrated as a primary therapy to 26%. Analysis of the radical prostatectomy subgroup showed that a robot-assisted technique was used in 83% of the patients, and the remaining 17% underwent an open radical prostatectomy. CONCLUSION: As the prostate cancer incidence increased in Korea, the proportion of localized and locally advanced cancer also increased. In addition, the main treatment modality changed from non-surgical treatment to radical prostatectomy.
Databases, Factual ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hormones/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Prostatectomy/*methods/trends ; Prostatic Neoplasms/*therapy ; Republic of Korea ; Robotics ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome

The clinical laboratory technology has gradually changed the traditional detection methods. The new detection technology provides a more rapid and more accurate way for the disease diagnosis. The designs of the clinical laboratory equipments pay more attention to human factors, low cost and benefit for environment protection.
Clinical Laboratory Information Systems ; Clinical Laboratory Techniques ; instrumentation ; trends ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Laboratories, Hospital ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; instrumentation ; methods ; Robotics ; Software