Robotic surgery are types of surgical procedures that are done using robotic systems. Robotically assisted surgery was developed to try to overcome the limitations of pre-existing minimally-invasive surgical procedures and to enhance the capabilities of surgeons performing open surgery.
In 1954, George Devol invented the first programmable industrial robot. Although the robot was not a surgeon, this robot, shown as its ancestor, included a multi-joint control arm and repeat instructions. More advanced versions of this robot were used throughout the 1960s, especially on the assembly lines of factories. PUMA (Programmable Universal Machine for Assembly) produced by Victor Scheinman in 1978 soon became a standard among commercial robots.
George Charles Devol Jr. (February 20, 1912 – August 11, 2011) was an American inventor, best known for creating Unimate, the first industrial robot. Devol's invention earned him the title "Grandfather of Robotics". As recognized by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, "Devol's patent for the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm represents the foundation of the modern robotics industry."
Born in 1946, Dr. Yik San Kwoh developed a robot software interface in 1985 that allowed the first robot-assisted surgical intervention to be performed. This interface, called "Ole", was a modified version of PUMA, and the changes made to it allowed the robot to perform neurosurgery. In these surgeries, a small probe on the robot surgeon enters the skull, and a CT scanner connected to this probe takes a three-dimensional picture of the brain. Then the robot determines the most suitable point where it can work on the tissue. "Ole" was especially used in biopsy operations of possible tumors located in the inner parts of the brain.
Before using this device on humans, Kwoh had to test it. For this, Kwoh inserted a series of small metal objects into the insides of the watermelons. Then the robot surgeon was able to detect these metal objects in a short time and remove them from the watermelons.
Since then, significant developments have been observed in robotic surgeon technology, and robot surgeons are now able to assist human surgeons and even operate on their own. In 1998, Dr. Using a robot surgeon named Da Vinci, Friedrich-Wilhelm Mohr performed the world's first robot-assisted coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in Leipsiz, Germany.
In 1999, the world's first beating heart coronary artery bypass graft surgery was performed at the London Health Sciences Center in Ontario, Canada. Normally, in this type of surgery, the patient's sternum was opened and the patient's heart was temporarily stopped. However, in this surgery, neither the patient's chest was opened nor the heart was stopped.