In a First, Robot Successfully Assisted Surgeons at University of Oxford in An Eye Surgery Trial
Using the robot, the surgeon was able to perform the procedure with equal or better efficacy than in the traditional manual approach.
Researchers from the University of Oxford have completed the first successful trial of robot-assisted retinal surgery. The trial was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Oxford Biomedical Research Centre and took place at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital. The trial was conducted on 12 patients and was published this week in Nature Biomedical Engineering.
From the 12 patients, half were randomly allocated robot-assisted surgery and the other half to standard manual surgery to remove a membrane from the back of an eye. Using the robot, the surgeon was able to perform the procedure with equal or better efficacy than in the traditional manual approach. In the second phase of the trial, the team used the robot to insert a fine needle under the retina to dissolve blood in three patients who had age-related macular degeneration. All experienced an improvement in their vision as a result. The surgery involved the dissection of the epiretinal membrane and inner limiting membrane over the macula, the central region of the retina responsible for fine visual acuity.
Robert MacLaren, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Oxford said, “This is a huge leap forward for delicate and technically difficult surgery which in time should significantly improve the quality and safety of this kind of operation. The trial also showed that the robot has great potential for extending the boundaries of what we can currently achieve.” He further added, “Our next step is will be to use the robotic surgical device for precise and minimally traumatic delivery of a gene therapy to the retina, which will be another first-in-man achievement and is set to commence in early 2019.”
“The current trial demonstrated and confirmed the safety and precision of our design. Providing precision, accuracy and stability beyond human capabilities are pre-requisites to push the boundaries of existing surgeries and standardising current procedures,” said professor Marc D de Smet, CMO of Preceyes BV, the Dutch medical robotics firm that designed and developed the PRECEYES Surgical System.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2018 12:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).