Dr Kedar Padte elaborates on the surgical robot named Versius, which makes it easier for surgeons to perform challenging and difficult surgical procedures.
As I write this article, my mind goes back to a book ‘The Ascent of Man’ by J. Bronowski. “Man is a singular creature, he has a set of gifts that make him unique among animals, thus, he is not a figure in the landscape, and he is the shaper of the landscape.
In body and mind, he is the explorer of nature, the ubiquitous animal, who not only found, but has made his home in every continent.
I believe, that ‘Versius’ will soon be a name known to every household on all continents. The surgical robot from Cambridge, UK is here to stay and make giant strides in the field of surgery.
Historically, early physicians like the Arabian Albukasim (936-1013 A.D) and later Phillip Bozzini (1805: Frankfurt) developed methods of examining to explore the human body through orifices.
The first effective open endoscope was developed in 1853 by Desormeaux. Earliest peritoneal laparoscopy was performed by George Kelling, who called it Celioscopy. Ever since, laparoscopic surgery in general and endoscopy in all has made logarithmic strides in every field of surgical medicine that have made the surgical procedures safer with much less morbidity and blood loss.
“The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world”, and the “hands that move the surgical instruments save lives”. The human body, the human himself is a mosaic of an animal and an angel. It has reflexes that are unique, and movements that make it move its limbs through pathway from the brain that forms a whole repertoire of subtle complex movements that can make the human perform complex sports actions or surgeries.
The limitation though is the limitation of flexibility. The same applies to laparoscopic surgery. Most laparoscopic surgery is performed using a 2D camera, with limited range of movements and the ergonomic positions can be tiring for the surgeon.
The Chief Medical Officer Dr. Mark Slack, himself a gynecologist, and a surgeon with amazing foresight has now – alongside a team of experts – introduced the Versius from CMR Surgical.
The Robotic, modular arms on the bedside units (BSUs) of this system are easy to use, comfortable to move and store, and have the mobility of rotating the fully wristed instruments through almost 720 degrees making it perhaps the most versatile surgical robotic system. The surgeon can sit or stand in an ergonomic position and operate at his convenient eye and arms position without getting exhausted. This makes the RAS (Robotic assisted surgery) even more fruitful
When accessing a rather dangerous anatomical area, close to vital structures and blood vessels, a surgeon has a challenging task and the lesion often remain inaccessible or there may be incomplete resection of a malignant deposit. Versius makes it simpler by virtue of its 3D vision and precision and control offered through its arms that bio-mimic the human arm and make the surgeon more confident. The Versius and its wider data driven digital ecosystem is likely to spread across states, countries and continents, making it the best approach to the minimally accessible surgery across the globe. The “Ascent of Man” in the RAS has begun and sky is the limit. In all our endeavours it’s the enthusiasm, perseverance, dedication, and push from Dr Jayashri Padte, that we cross the bridges. Now having done my first ever Robotic Hysterectomy, I wish Goa, India and the World, the very best and can foresee a glorious future for the CMR and the Versius
