The Henry Ford Vattikuti Urology Institute gets the credit for using the first robotically controlled Ultrasound probe for removal of cancerous tumor from the kidney.
Dr. Craig Rogers, Director of Renal Surgery at the Institute, stated that they had performed their first partial nephrectomy using the robotic ultrasound probe in the month of January and had completed over 30 cases with the equipment. This definitely marks an advancement for robotic surgeons, he said.
Dr Rogers has performed the maximum number of renal surgeries, in both total nephrectomy and robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN), in the whole world.
Normally laproscopic procedures need a surgical assistant who would hold an ultrasound probe during incision and the surgeon will be seated at the robotic console where other tools could be controlled. The assistant would manually move the ultrasound probe as directed by the surgeon. However, the new ultrasound probe can be controlled robotically by the surgeon himself, thus eliminating the need for an assistant and also bringing in more accuracy to the procedure.
A study comparing RPN procedures using robotically controlled ultrasound and traditional method was carried out by Dr. Rogers and his team. The results of this study would be published shortly.
According to Rogers, the results had indicated that it was advantageous to provide robotic surgeons with more control over different surgical devices used during RPNs. The ultrasound probe has also been used to remove uterine fibroids for the first time at the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital for robotic myomectomy cases.
The probe has been developed by Aloka Ultrasound and is being analyzed at Henry Ford for potential applications in other kinds of surgeries.
Source: http://www.henryfordhealth.org/