SUMMARY

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved four robotic surgical systems to be used in operations of clinical laparoscopy. The purpose of this article is to describe these four robotic surgical systems. In robotic laparoscopy surgery, AESOP and Endoassist replace the cameraman and provide a stable platform for the video telescope. AESOP is controlled by the surgeon’s voice commands, whereas Endoassist responds to the movements of an infrared light adhered to the surgeon’s head.

During the telerobotic laparoscopic surgeries, the physician is seated in front of a computer console that is at a distance from the patient. The surgeon observes a virtual three-dimensional operating area and carries out the operation by controlling two tele-robotic arms, both of which hold the surgical instruments. These telerobotic arms simulate the movements of the surgeon’s hands, with six degrees of freedom and two degrees of axial rotation. By combining the three-dimensional images and the movements which are similar to the manual movements of the surgical instruments, The complex laparoscopic procedures are facilitated. In June 2000, the tele-robotic surgical system Da Vinci was authorized by the FDA to act as an operating surgeon, but in October 2001, in the case of Zeus, it was only authorized to act as an assistant surgeon during laparoscopies,. Consequently, surgeons have reported great clinical experiences with Da Vinci. Tele-robotic, laparoscopic abdominal surgery is feasible, and its initial results are similar to those obtained from traditional laparoscopic surgery. Therefore, the tele-robotic and robotic surgical systems overcome some of the limitations inherent in traditional laparoscopic surgeries and they could increase the number of surgeons who could perform complex laparoscopies in the future. 

KEY WORDS: Robots; Robotic, Telerobotic; Robotic Surgery; Telerobotic Surgery; Tele-presence; Tele-medicine.

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