Doosan Robotics partners with Erop to use collaborative robot surgical assistance solutions in actual surgery for the first time…achieving successful results
2024. 03. 14
Doosan Robotics' collaborative robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery solution was used for the first time in an actual surgery and achieved successful results. This is expected to lead to full-scale commercialization in the medical field.
On the 14th, Doosan Robotics announced that its laparoscopic surgery assistance solution was used and successfully completed a cholecystectomy performed at Koo Hospital in Daegu.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a surgical procedure in which the gallbladder is removed using surgical tools manipulated after inserting a 10 mm endoscopic camera into the abdominal cavity through the navel. A trocar is inserted through an incision of about 1 cm into the skin to allow surgical tools to enter and exit. Imaging devices and tools that can observe the inside of the body from the outside are inserted through 3 to 4 incisions to perform the surgery.
This laparoscopic surgery assistance solution used this time was jointly developed by Erop Co., Ltd., a system integration (SI) company specializing in medical equipment, and Professor Jin Sang-rok and his team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Pusan National University, based on Doosan Robotics' collaborative robot, which is equipped with an endoscopic camera.
The solution can withstand a load of 3 kg and is equipped with joint torque sensors on each axis of the six collaborative robots, enabling delicate and precise work. It also can optimize the surgical path through programming, and a joystick enables smooth movements vertically and horizontally along with zooming in and out of images on the screen.
Collaborative robots are expected to reduce the workload in medical settings by taking over the strenuous task of holding the endoscopic camera for a long time, which previously required 2-3 surgical assistants.
Director Koo Ja-il, who performed the surgery, said, "The laparoscopic surgical assistance solution using the collaborative robot allowed us to complete the surgery in a precise and safe manner, and the patient was able to return home without any complications," and added, "It is expected that highly complex surgeries such as colon cancer and rectal prolapse will also be possible in the future, and there will be many positive effects such as increased surgical perfection and shortened surgical time, improving the patient's recovery."
Junghoon Ryu, CEO of Doosan Robotics, said, "This is the first case of a laparoscopic surgical assistance solution developed with domestic technology being used in a medical setting," and continued, "We hope that collaborative robots will be used in various medical settings in the future to improve work efficiency and reduce the workload of medical professionals."
Doosan Robotics and Erop have supplied laparoscopic surgery assistance solutions using collaborative robots to hospitals including Koo Hospital in Daegu and Min Hospital in Seoul, and are considering expanding into overseas markets such as the US and Europe, as well as domestically.
