On the morning of June 3rd, the medical team led by Liu Tao, Director of the Department of Orthopedics (Trauma Center) of Henan Provincial People's Hospital completed a minimally invasive percutaneous FNS system closed reduction assisted by TiRobot for a patient with femoral neck fracture. The cut was only 2 cm with only 3 stitches. Compared with the traditional surgery, the length of operation was cut down by a half. The minimally invasive, efficient, precise and intelligent treatment has certainly come true.
Debut: An all-round medical robot is at workAt 9 am, a 19-year-old patient with right femoral neck fracture was having an operation in E36 operating room of Henan Provincial People’s Hospital. Unlike the past, a flexible and stable robotic arm was setting a precise trajectory for her. The side screen not only presented the position of her fracture and provided with a planned trajectory, but also monitored the operation in real time.For Director Liu Tao, though he was experienced in this kind of operations, this case was still very innovative for him from the operation to the fixation. The robot is called TiRobot®. With the help of it, surgeons move from the operating table to the computer and their identities also change from operators to supervisors. They transmitted the 3D images to the navigation system of TiRobot and made a plan on the position, direction and length of the screw from images in the operation interface. Then, the robotic arm carried out the operation. Impressively, the robotic arm of TiRobot is able to place the guide pin and tube in one go without repeated exploration. The surgeons can just place the screw according to the position. Dr. Liu said, ‘In the past, surgeons had to incise until the fracture exposed. The cut was usually large. What is worse, the surgeons with naked eyes could only judge from their experience while implanting the screw. The accuracy all depended on surgeons` experience. Given that the patient is only 19 years old and she might be a mother in the future. After careful consideration, we decided to give her the least invasive treatment, which is also the most convenient for her future life.’Finally, the medical team led by Director Liu successfully completed the minimally invasive percutaneous closed reduction for femoral neck fracture with the assistance of TiRobot. The incision was only 2 cm with only 10ml bleeding.
The operation also adopted an internationally leading fixation called femoral neck dynamic cross screw system (FNS) with only 3 stitches. The operation is not only simple with less trauma, but also improves the healing rate of femoral neck fracture and at the same time reduces rates of femoral head necrosis. For younger patients, the incidence of joint replacement reduces.2. The secret of doctor`s perfect partner 精准The surgeons are always pursuing precise, fast and safe surgery. However, the limitation of human`s body leaves them little space to make the best use of their techniques. In this case, the medical robot has become an extension of doctors. Like TiRobot, it acts as perspective eyes and stable hands for doctors.TiRobot® is composed of robotic arm, optical tracking system and main control surgical cart, which perform as hands, eyes and brains of surgeons. The perspective eyes and stable hands of TiRobot solve three major problems in orthopedic surgery at one stroke: unclear vision, difficulty in precision and instability. For example, the optical tracking system not only focuses on muscles and bones in depth but also monitors the operation in real time. The robotic arm is flexible and stable and can reach sub-millimeter level. Furthermore, the main control system can convey the doctor’s mind to the other two devices above and help him make a plan. During the operation, TiRobot can track the slight movement of patients and adjust accordingly with the robotic arm to make sure the practical trajectory is consistent with the planned one. It is very precise and can reach sub-millimeter level.Director Liu introduced that TiRobot is a core intelligent device promoting the precise and minimally invasive surgery. It can support the surgeons comprehensively from vision and touch in this way to extend their skills during the surgery. TiRobot® with an all-round navigation system can be applied into complex fractures of pelvis, limbs and spine. Its clinical success has brought trauma treatment into a new era and greatly relieved the patients` pain and sped up their recovery.
Source: Henan Provincial People’s Hospital
Collected by TINAVI