University of Utah researchers testing new robot for eye surgery

Researchers at the University of Utah are testing a new robot device that could help in more precise retinal surgery.

In a press release on 20 February, the university said the robot being developed by University of Utah’s John A. Moran Eye Center and the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering aims to give surgeons “superhuman” hands.

The findings of the research have been published in the journal Science Robotics, funded by by the National Institutes of Health

Eye surgery with precision

The retina is one of the most delicate parts of the body, so surgery on it requires a lot of precision, especially because the surgeon is dealing with a layer of cells less than a millimeter thick. 

With just human hands, there’s room for a lot of mistakes in movement which can result in unintended injury, hence the need for a more precise method of carrying out the operation.

The new retinal-surgery robot is extremely precise, executing movements as small as 1 micrometer (smaller than a single human cell).

Mounted directly on to the patient’s head using a helmet, it is able to compensate for movements of the patient’s head to keep the eye still under the robot. 

The robot also scales down the surgeon’s movements, measured using a handheld robotic device known as a haptic interface that controls hand tremors and focuses on the patient’s eye.

Impressive results

A successful test of the robot has been carried out using enucleated pig eyes and the result published this week. Commenting, co-author Eileen Hwang, a Moran Eye Center retinal surgeon said:

“The unique feature of this robot, head mounting, may make it possible for patients to have subretinal injections under intravenous (IV) sedation, rather than general anesthesia. IV sedation allows for faster recovery and is safer in some patients. Robots may also allow for more precise delivery of gene therapy medication compared to manual injections for  more reproducible, safer treatments.”

In the test, surgeons achieved higher success rates while using the surgical robot device to perform subretinal injections while also avoiding ophthalmic complications.