A study from researchers at Politecnico di Milano holds promising results for more accurate robotic assistive aids
Orange County, CA - November 7th 2016 - The first use of robotic aid in healthcare was in 1983 when the Arthrobot was used to manipulate the position of a patient’s leg and steady it during an orthopedic surgery, with the use of voice commands. In the twelve months following this surgery over 60 robot-assisted arthroscopies were completed, teaching developers of their capabilities and shortcomings leading to technical improvements. The Arthrobot was only a prototype, but paved the way for future research into robot and human collaboration in the medical field.
Significant progression in the fields of robotics and artificial intelligence has resulted in more efficient and less invasive surgeries. The use of robotics allows for enhanced precision during difficult or dangerous procedures, and now some in the medical field are looking into developing robotic scrub nurses able to endure long and sensitive surgeries. These devices will be able to assist in surgery, giving surgeons the correct instrument at the correct time and making the handover of materials less distracting.
The difficulty of human-robot handover goes beyond the physical application. Studies suggest that the handover process between humans is coordinated through both verbal and non-verbal cues that can alert the other before they’ve begun the transition. The attitudes about robots also affect interaction. The Uncanny Valley theory suggests humans react favorably to robots that look human, but only to an extent, once that variable of time has passed it causes a sense of repulsion and unease.
Taking previous studies into consideration, researchers at the Medical Robotic Section (MRSLab) at Politecnico di Milano examined how a robotic arm imitating human motor strategies during reaching tasks would affect the outcome of a procedure. To do this, scientists created a neural network based on human actions by having the robotic arm mimic a total of 96 different movements made by a human subject recorded with a spatial localizer. The recorded movements then created 3 separate neural networks used to help improve the robotic arm’s trajectory and smoothness during surgery.
The study shows that neural networks are able to improve trajectory to appear more human-like, facilitating the psychophysical interaction between human and robot. To continue facilitating that psychophysical interaction, the next step is to increase the intelligence of the robot with an increased neural network so that it will better understand the surgery and what is required by the surgeon. Each improvement is one step closer to improved quality of care in a surgical setting.
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A study from researchers at Politecnico di Milano holds promising results for more accurate robotic assistive aids Orange County, CA – November 7th 2016 – The first use of robotic aid in healthcare was in 1983 when the Arthrobot was used to manipulate the position of a patient’s leg and steady it during an orthopedic surgery, […]