OBJECTIVE: To explore the advantages and effectiveness of the independently developed intelligent orthopedic robot-assisted distal locking of femoral intramedullary nails. METHODS: Thirty-two adult cadaveric femur specimens were randomly divided into two groups, with 16 specimens in each group. The experimental group used the intelligent orthopedic robot to assist in the distal locking of femoral intramedullary nail holes, while the control group used the traditional method of manual locking under X-ray fluoroscopy. The locking time, fluoroscopy times, and the success rate of first locking were recorded and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The locking time of the experimental group was (273.94±38.67) seconds, which was shorter than that of the control group [(378.38±152.72) seconds], and number of fluoroscopies was (4.56±0.81) times, which was less than that of the control group [(8.00±3.98) times]. The differences were significant [ MD=73.054 (-37.187, 85.813), P=0.049; MD=1.969 (-1.437, 2.563), P=0.002]. The first locking success rate of the experimental group was 100% (16/16), which was significantly higher than that of the control group (68.75%, 11/16) ( P=0.043). CONCLUSION The efficiency of distal locking of femoral intramedullary nails assisted by the intelligent orthopedic robot is significantly higher than that of the traditional manual locking method under fluoroscopy, as it can markedly reduce the time required for distal locking of femoral intramedullary nails, decrease intraoperative radiation exposure, and increase the success rate of locking.
Humans ; Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary/instrumentation* ; Bone Nails ; Fluoroscopy ; Femur/diagnostic imaging* ; Femoral Fractures/surgery* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/instrumentation* ; Cadaver ; Adult ; Robotics ; Male

With the continuous progress of medical technology, the application of stereotactic surgical robots in the field of neurosurgical operations has become increasingly extensive and important. This paper focuses on the registration principle of ultra-wideband positioning technology in stereotactic surgical robots during neurosurgical operations. It elaborates in detail on the processes of positioning and navigation, and illustrates different registration algorithms with examples. In addition, this paper looks ahead to the future development directions of ultra-wideband positioning technology in surgical robots, aiming to provide references for further development of surgical robots.
Neurosurgical Procedures/instrumentation* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/methods* ; Algorithms ; Robotics/methods*

The peripheral pulmonary lesions are located far from the central airway and close to the pleura, so it is a challenge for clinical diagnosis of their nature through biopsy. Therefore, the Ion robot-assisted bronchoscopy system which has started its commercialization in China is proposed to diagnose and treat peripheral pulmonary lesions. The Ion system can be used for navigation, registration, biopsy and treatment. In this paper, the structural principle of the Ion system is expounded, and its technical advantages such as shape perception, slender catheter and flexible operation are summarized. It represents the latest development direction of the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral pulmonary lesions. Then, the clinical application and development status of the Ion system are analyzed and discussed in detail. Finally, the development trend of the robot-assisted bronchoscopy system is prospected, which provides new ideas for realizing the "integrated and one-stop" diagnosis and treatment services for peripheral pulmonary lesions based on this system.
Bronchoscopy/instrumentation* ; Humans ; Robotics ; Robotic Surgical Procedures

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of a newly developed intelligent acupuncture robot that simulates human manual acupuncture techniques through an animal experiment using miniature pigs. METHODS: Two 3-month-old Bama miniature pigs were selected. One pig was used for the manual needling techniques of the practitioner, and the other pig was used for the intelligent acupuncture robot. The acupoints selected were "Qiangfeng" "Bojian" "Xiaokua" "Huiyang" (BL 35) and "Baihui" (GV 20), with a straight insertion depth of 25-35 mm. The manipulation techniques, including lifting-thrusting and twisting at a frequency of 90 times/min, were applied for 1 min, with 30 s each for lifting-thrusting (10 mm amplitude) and twisting (180° angle). The practitioner's needling techniques were captured using an optical motion capture system, and the collected data were input into the intelligent acupuncture robot for replication on the second miniature pig. A complete needling session of five acupoints was considered one round, and three rounds were performed per session, every other day, for a total of five sessions, completing 15 rounds. The Fréchet distance method was used to compare the robot's replicated needling data with the practitioner's data, and curve fitting analysis was conducted to evaluate the robot's performance and precision. RESULTS: The intelligent acupuncture robot achieved a total completion rate of 96.00% for 75 needling operations, with a non-completion rate of 4.00%. The robot's replication of the practitioner's needling techniques showed a good fit, with many characteristic points overlapping. The average Fréchet distance was 18.67. The Fréchet distance for the lifting-thrusting and twisting techniques at Baihui (GV 20) and "Huiyang" (BL 35) acupoints was smaller than that at "Xiaokua" and "Qiangfeng" points (P<0.01). The accuracy of the lifting-thrusting technique at "Xiaokua" and "Qiangfeng" acupoints was lower than the twisting technique (P<0.01). CONCLUSION The intelligent acupuncture robot is able to replicate the pre-recorded manual needling parameters with a high degree of accuracy.
Animals ; Swine ; Swine, Miniature ; Acupuncture Therapy/methods* ; Robotics/instrumentation* ; Humans ; Acupuncture Points ; Female ; Male

In order to seek a patient friendly and low-cost intestinal examination method, a structurally simple pneumatic soft intestinal robot inspired by inchworms is designed and manufactured. The intestinal robot was consisted of two radially expanding cylindrical rubber film airbags for anchoring and one low density polyethylene film airbag for axial elongation, which achieved movement in the intestine by mimicking the crawling of inchworms. Theoretical derivation was conducted on the relationship between the internal air pressure of the anchored airbag and the free deformation size after expansion, and it pointed out that the uneven deformation of the airbag was a phenomenon of expansion instability caused by large deformation of the rubber material. The motion performance of the intestinal robot was validated in different sizes of hard tubes and ex vivo pig small intestine. The running speed in the ex vivo pig small intestine was 4.87 mm/s, with an anchoring force of 2.33 N when stationary, and could smoothly pass through a 90 ° bend. This work expects to provide patients with a new method of low pain and low-cost intestinal examination.
Animals ; Swine ; Robotics/instrumentation* ; Equipment Design ; Intestine, Small/physiology* ; Intestines/physiology* ; Humans

Characteristics of two major categories of RA equipment which defined in the standard are interpreted firstly. Few representative RA equipment in current market and their key product features are introduced. Then, classifications of different indexes of spatial positioning accuracy are declared, the difficulties of performing testing process on each indexes are further explained. Meanwhile, different kinds of three dimensional coordinate measuring equipment that are cutting edge at present stage are introduced with their main methods of use explained. According to characteristics of three dimensional coordinate measuring equipment on the market, proper measuring equipment for testing certain index of spatial positioning accuracy and corresponding experiment method are introduced.
Robotics/standards* ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/instrumentation*

Aftercare ; Coronavirus Infections ; complications ; therapy ; Critical Care ; Equipment Design ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; etiology ; rehabilitation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; complications ; therapy ; Rehabilitation ; instrumentation ; Robotics

At present, there still exist some limitations in the laparoscopic surgery robot represented by da Vinci surgical robot, such as the lack of force feedback function. Doctor can not feel the force feedback while operating. In this paper, a new minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery robot system is designed. Based on the master side surgeon's console, stereo vision subsystem and the slave side surgical cart, the multi-dimensional instrument force feedback technology and force feedback based safety protection strategy are introduced. The design realizes the force sensing function of full state operation. Besides, a number of different live pig experiments are carried out. The amount of bleeding in these experiments is relatively small compared with the data of the same kind of surgical robots, which effectively validates the force feedback and surgical safety protection strategies of the new robot system.
Animals ; Equipment Design ; Laparoscopy ; instrumentation ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Robotic Surgical Procedures ; instrumentation ; Robotics ; Swine

BACKGROUND: Da Vinci Surgical System is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century, which represents the development direction of the precise minimally invasive surgical techniques, the aim of this study was to comparing the short-term outcomes between da Vinci robot-assisted lobectomy and video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. METHODS: 45 pairs of non-small cell lung cancer patients underwent pulmonary lobectomy with da Vinci Robotic assisted thoracoscopic (RATS) and VATS approach during the same period from January 2014 to January 2017. The operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), total number and total groups of dissected lymph nodes, postoperative duration of drainage, the first day volume of drainage, total volume of drainage were compared. RESULTS: No perioperative death and convertion to thoracotomy occured in both groups. There were significant difference between RATS group and VATS group in EBL [(50.30±32.33) mL vs (208.60±132.63) mL], the first day volume of drainage [(275.00±145.42) mL vs (347.60±125.80) mL], the dissected total number [(22.67±9.67) vs (15.51±5.41)] and total team [(6.31±1.43) vs (4.91±1.04)] of lymph node. There were no significant difference in other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS RATS is safe and effective and took better short-outcomes than VATS in non-small cell lung cancer.
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; surgery ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; surgery ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; Operative Time ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotics ; methods ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ; instrumentation ; methods ; Thoracoscopy ; instrumentation ; methods

Minimal invasive surgery with short operation time and enhanced recovery after surgery can truly achieve biological minimal invasiveness. The minimal invasive lung cancer surgery includes several kinds, such as uni-portal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) and multi-portal VATS. Robotic-assisted thoracic surgery (RATS) can be categorized into multi-portal VATS. As a frontier technology of minimal invasive surgical technique, surgical robotic system has been broadly applied in many areas. The average RATS operation time is (91.51±30.80) min among our team, which is much shorter than reported uni-portal VATS operation time. For now, RATS has some drawbacks and is lacking of national practice guidelines, which, we believe, will be solved by technology development and large-scale randomized controlled trials. 
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Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; surgery ; Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures ; instrumentation ; methods ; Robotics ; instrumentation ; methods ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted ; instrumentation ; methods