New surgical robot can suture with the best of them, without human help

The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, combines off-the-shelf robotic hardware, time-tested sensor technology and improvised software -- and none of the attributes that make surgeons the hard-charging stars of their profession. But a new study suggests it could become an operating room workhorse anyway, nudging aside some doctors well before the patient's incision is closed. In a series of trial runs, STAR sutured incisions with deft, even strokes that surpassed those of experienced surgeons and an existing robotic system. Without any human oversight, STAR manipulated tissue that can stretch, twist and retract unpredictably, and sewed it up well enough to withstand a surge of hydraulic pressure from within. And by all accounts, it never complained about its hours or pay. The STAR system has the potential to speed some of surgery's most time-consuming work, doing it with fewer mistakes and potentially reducing costly and dangerous surgical complications, according to the authors of a new study that put the robot through its paces.