Autonomous Robots Prove to Be Better Surgeons Than Humans

In a major step toward autonomous healthcare, a robot successfully completed laparoscopic surgery on a pig without human backup. Designed by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) has performed the procedure--which requires a high level of repetitive motion and precision--in four animals, producing "significantly better" results than humans. "Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine," according to Axel Krieger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at JHU's Whiting School of Engineering. Even the slightest hand tremor or misplaced stitch can lead to catastrophic complications. Krieger, in collaboration with the Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and Hopkins professor of electrical and computer engineering Jin Kang, designed and built the vision-guided robot specifically to suture soft tissue.