The da Vinci Surgical System (sic) is a robotic surgical system made by the American company Intuitive Surgical. Approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000, it is designed to facilitate complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach, and is controlled by a surgeon from a console. The system is commonly used for prostatectomies, and increasingly for cardiac valve repair and gynecologic surgical procedures. The name of the system, Da Vinci, is derived from that great artist we know since his study in anatomy had finally led the appearance of the first robot in human history.
The da Vinci System consists of a surgeon’s console that is typically in the same room as the patient, and a patient-side cart with four interactive robotic arms controlled from the console. Three of the arms are for tools that hold objects, and can also act as scalpels, scissors, bovies, or unipolar or hi. The surgeon uses the console’s master controls to maneuver the patient-side cart’s three or four robotic arms (depending on the model). The instruments’ jointed-wrist design exceeds the natural range of motion of the human hand; motion scaling and tremor reduction further interpret and refine the surgeon’s hand movements. The da Vinci System always requires a human operator, and incorporates multiple redundant safety features designed to minimize opportunities for human error when compared with traditional approaches.
Moreover, the da Vinci System has been designed to improve upon conventional laparoscopy, in which the surgeon operates while standing, using hand-held, long-shafted instruments, which have no wrists. With conventional laparoscopy, the surgeon must look up and away from the instruments, to a nearby 2D video monitor to see an image of the target anatomy. The surgeon must also rely on a patient-side assistant to position the camera correctly. In contrast, the da Vinci System’s design allows the surgeon to operate from a seated position at the console, with eyes and hands positioned in line with the instruments and using controls at the console to move the instruments and camera.
In this case, the appearance of this kind of surgical system provides much more benefits than before. The system provides doctors superior visualizations, precision and comforts, thus increasing the efficiency of treatment. Also, the robots always deliver smaller incisions, which will bring the patient less pain. It could also minimize the time for patient to stay in hospital, which will reduce the cost of medical treatment as well.
Although the general term "robotic surgery" is often used to refer to the technology, this term can give the impression that the da Vinci System is performing the surgery autonomously. In contrast, the current da Vinci Surgical System cannot – in any manner – function on its own, as it was not designed as an autonomous system and lacks decision making software. Instead, it relies on a human operator for all input; however, all operations – including vision and motor functions— are performed through remote human-computer interaction, and thus with the appropriate "weak AI" software, the system could in principle perform partially or completely autonomously. Nevertheless, this system still brings new hope for the development of medical study.
Reference:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Vinci_Surgical_System
Picture Reference:
1. https://www.google.com/search?q=da+vinci+surgical+system&biw=1608&bih=889&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjR8Nmp7v7PAhWMOiYKHTiTA5cQ_AUIBigB#imgrc=t_RoTEef53Z-UM%3A
