Robotic surgery arm demonstration

Robotic surgery arm demonstration

The photograph shows one of the large white figures in the atrium of Broomfield Hosptial. As our Club contributed towards the £1.5 Million cost of the new robotic surgery arm, we were invited to the hospital for a private demonstration.

Seven of us assembled in the atrium in the early evening of Wednesday, 1 May 2019, after the hospital’s routine work had ended for the day. We were met by Charlotte Jeffcoate of the Mid Essex Hospitals Trust, who took us up to Level 3, where the operating theatres are situated. Before we entered the area we all had to don protective coats.

In the operating theatre we were met by a consultant surgeon and one of the senior nurses. The surgeon told us about the equipment and its use and answered our questions. He obviously had a very thorough knowledge of his subject.

The equipment is manufactured in the USA. The description “Robotic surgery arm” may sum up images of a piece of equipment working automatically under the control of software. It might be more accurate to describe it as a remotely-controlled surgery arm. It was originally developed for use in war areas, so surgeons could perform operations on the wounded without entering the danger zone themselves. It has since been adapted for civilian use. The longest distance over which it has been used is that between New York and Singapore. That does impose a slight risk, however, as the length of the connection means there is a very small delay between something happening in the operating theatre and it being displayed on the surgeon’s screen. At Broomfield the surgeon and patient are both in the same operating theatre and the distance between them is about three metres.

The description “Robotic surgery arm” is also inaccurate in that up to four arms can be used at the same time, as well as a camera. For the purpose of the demonstration it was fitted with two arms used for training, both ending in pincers, and a camera. The equipment is used for keyhole surgery. One of the advantages compared with traditional keyhole surgery is that the surgeon can manipulate the camera instead of relying on someone else to do so. Another is that the equipment removes any slight tremor the surgeon may have!

The equipment gives the surgeon very fine control. The robotic surgery arm is placed above the operating table and the surgeon sits at a control console. This contains a display showing the view from the camera. Orders are not transmitted from the control console to the surgery arm unless the surgeon has his or her eyes against the eyepieces.

Once in position, the surgeon places her or his hands in two controls on the console to manipulate the arms. By pressing on a foot pedal the surgeon can move the camera instead.

We all took turns at using the equipment to pick up and move small pieces of plastic. This showed us that the control console can be used by those who wear glasses. It takes many years to train as a surgeon but the robotic surgery arm seemed fairly simple to use. The hospital’s previous robotic surgery arm has been transfered to the medical school at Anglia Ruskin University to help train future generations of surgeons.

We are grateful to the staff at Broomfield Hospital for arranging the event, demonstrating the equipment and answering our questions about it. The robotic surgery arm is one of just 27 in the country. The hospital is still £300,000 short of its £1.5 Million funding target, so if you would like to contribute to the cost go to their Robotics Surgery Appeal website.