Page 413 - Biomedical Engineering and Design Handbook Volume 2, Applications

CHAPTER 14

COMPUTER-INTEGRATED

SURGERY AND MEDICAL
ROBOTICS

Russell Taylor
Department of Computer Science Center for Computer-
Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology, The Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.

Leo Joskowicz
School of Computer Science and Engineering Computer-Aided
Surgery and Medical Image Processing Laboratory, The Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, Israel

14.1 INTRODUCTION: COUPLING 14.5 PERSPECTIVES 423
INFORMATION TO SURGICAL ACTION 391 14.6 BRIEF UPDATE FOR THE
14.2 AN OVERVIEW OF CIS SYSTEMS 396 SECOND EDITION 423
14.3 THE TECHNOLOGY OF ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 427
CIS SYSTEMS 398 REFERENCES 427
14.4 EXAMPLES OF CIS SYSTEMS 412

14.1 INTRODUCTION: COUPLING INFORMATION
TO SURGICAL ACTION

The growing demand for complex and minimally invasive surgical interventions is driving the search for
ways to use computer-based information technology as a link between the preoperative plan and the
tools utilized by the surgeon. Computers, used in conjunction with advanced surgical assist devices, will
fundamentally alter the way that procedures are carried out in twenty-first century operating rooms.
Computer-integrated surgery (CIS) systems make it possible to carry out surgical interventions
that are more precise and less invasive than conventional procedures, while judiciously tracking and
logging all relevant data. This data logging, coupled with appropriate tracking of patient outcomes,
will make possible a totally new level of quantitative patient outcome assessment and treatment
improvement analogous to “total quality management” in manufacturing.
The goals of CIS systems are to enhance the dexterity, visual feedback, and information integra-
tion of the surgeon. While medical equipment is currently available to assist the surgeons in specific
tasks, it is the synergy between these capabilities that gives rise to a new paradigm. The goal is to
complement and enhance surgeons’ skills and always leave them in control, never to replace them.

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