ZEUS robotic surgical system
Encyclopedia
The ZEUS Robotic Surgical System was a medical robot designed to assist in surgery
, originally produced by the American robotics company Computer Motion. It was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration
in 1994 to assist surgeons in minimally invasive surgery. ZEUS had three robotic arms, which were remotely controlled by the surgeon. The first arm, AESOP (Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning), was a voice-activated endoscope, allowing the surgeon to see inside the patient’s body. The other two robotic arms acted like extensions of the surgeon’s own arms, mimicking the surgeon’s movements and also allowing for more precise executions of the surgeon’s commands.
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) contract to develop the AESOP arm. NASA funded this research in the hope that use derivatives of such technology to help service the Space Shuttle
in orbit, working on parts of the shuttle where humans cannot easily access or make delicate repairs or adjustments.
AESOP was cleared for use by the FDA in 1994, where it became the first robot to assist in a surgery. AESOP's function is to maneuver an endoscope inside the patient's body during the surgery. The camera moves around based on voice commands given by the surgeon. The voice activation of the AESOP arm allows the surgeon to use it while still holding on to the controls for the other two arms of the ZEUS system. The endoscope can also be controlled by a computer, which allows for more precise movements, and also allows the endoscope to be inserted into the patient through a smaller incision (a main component of minimally invasive surgery).
procedure, and its first coronary artery bypass surgery
(CABG) procedure. By 2000, the ZEUS was equipped to hold 28 different surgical instruments, and in 2001 it received FDA approval. In 2003, the ZEUS Robot Surgical System was marketed at $975,000 apiece. This was slightly cheaper than the competing Da Vinci system, which sold for $1 million apiece.
Computer Motion vs. Intuitive Surgical
By 2000, Computer Motion had filed eight lawsuits against a rival medical robotics company, Intuitive Surgical
, for allegedly infringing on Computer Motion's patents relating to robotic surgery.
In March 7, 2003, Computer Motion and Intuitive Surgical merged into a single company. This was partially done to try to end the litigation between the companies, but also to combine their efforts in developing robotic surgical systems to increase the effectivness of such technology. Soon after merging, the ZEUS was phased out in favor of the Da Vinci
system from Intuitive Surgical.
), such as beating heart surgery, and endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (E-CABGTM). The system was also used to initiate more complex procedures, like a mitral valve surgery IDE study. The ZEUS' robotic arms not only mimic the surgeon’s hand movements, but also scale down the movement, allowing the surgeon to easily make precise and small cuts.
The arms also correct for tremors in a surgeon's hands, which are normal even without fatigue, though a highly traied surgeon will be able to lessen the negative effects. However, some surgeries can last for hours, in which case the surgeon's arms will get tired, and the resulting tremors from fatigue can make the surgeon create false cuts, which can be devastating during a delicate operation. To handle this, the ZEUS is designed to track and nullify these tremors while still responding to the movements/commands of the surgeon's hands.
During the surgery, the surgeon sits at the ZEUS console to control the arms. This can also lessen fatigue, because the surgeon is sitting down during the long operation rather than leaning over the patient.
The ZEUS is also able to perform remote surgery. Because the surgeon is simply controlling the robotic arms, the surgeon can sit at a ZEUS console remote from where the surgery is actually taking place, and still be able to perform the surgery. This technology is not yet advanced enough to make remote surgery over large distances feasible, because the information from the console cannot be transferred fast enough over a long distance to make the surgery safe for the patient. Once this technology has been improved, it can be incredibly beneficial to patients worldwide, because a single highly skilled surgeon in one city can provide life-saving operations to patients in many different cities as long as there is a surgical robot at the hospital where the surgery is taking place.
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, originally produced by the American robotics company Computer Motion. It was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
in 1994 to assist surgeons in minimally invasive surgery. ZEUS had three robotic arms, which were remotely controlled by the surgeon. The first arm, AESOP (Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning), was a voice-activated endoscope, allowing the surgeon to see inside the patient’s body. The other two robotic arms acted like extensions of the surgeon’s own arms, mimicking the surgeon’s movements and also allowing for more precise executions of the surgeon’s commands.
AESOP
In the 1990s, Computer Motion was a leading producer of medical robotics, manufacturing systems such as the HERMES Control Center and the SOCRATES Telecollaboration System. Computer Motion originally researched under a NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) contract to develop the AESOP arm. NASA funded this research in the hope that use derivatives of such technology to help service the Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
in orbit, working on parts of the shuttle where humans cannot easily access or make delicate repairs or adjustments.
AESOP was cleared for use by the FDA in 1994, where it became the first robot to assist in a surgery. AESOP's function is to maneuver an endoscope inside the patient's body during the surgery. The camera moves around based on voice commands given by the surgeon. The voice activation of the AESOP arm allows the surgeon to use it while still holding on to the controls for the other two arms of the ZEUS system. The endoscope can also be controlled by a computer, which allows for more precise movements, and also allows the endoscope to be inserted into the patient through a smaller incision (a main component of minimally invasive surgery).
ZEUS system
The first prototype of the ZEUS was demonstrated in 1995, and tested on animals in 1996. Two years later, in 1998, it carried out its first tubal re-anastomosisSurgical anastomosis
In surgical jargon, to create an anastomosis is to join together two hollow organs , usually to restore continuity after resection, or to bypass an unresectable disease process. Historically such procedures were performed with suture material, but increasingly mechanical staplers and biological...
procedure, and its first coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
(CABG) procedure. By 2000, the ZEUS was equipped to hold 28 different surgical instruments, and in 2001 it received FDA approval. In 2003, the ZEUS Robot Surgical System was marketed at $975,000 apiece. This was slightly cheaper than the competing Da Vinci system, which sold for $1 million apiece.
Computer Motion vs. Intuitive Surgical
By 2000, Computer Motion had filed eight lawsuits against a rival medical robotics company, Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical Inc. is a corporation that manufactures robotic surgical systems, most notably the da Vinci Surgical System. The da Vinci Surgical System allows surgery to be performed remotely using robotic manipulators. The company is part of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500...
, for allegedly infringing on Computer Motion's patents relating to robotic surgery.
In March 7, 2003, Computer Motion and Intuitive Surgical merged into a single company. This was partially done to try to end the litigation between the companies, but also to combine their efforts in developing robotic surgical systems to increase the effectivness of such technology. Soon after merging, the ZEUS was phased out in favor of the Da Vinci
Da Vinci Surgical System
The Da Vinci Surgical System is a robotic surgical system made by Intuitive Surgical and designed to facilitate complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach...
system from Intuitive Surgical.
Features
The ZEUS was designed for minimally invasive procedures (microsurgeryMicrosurgery
Microsurgery is a general term for surgery requiring an operating microscope. The most obvious developments have been procedures developed to allow anastomosis of successively smaller blood vessels and nerves which have allowed transfer of tissue from one part of the body to another and...
), such as beating heart surgery, and endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (E-CABGTM). The system was also used to initiate more complex procedures, like a mitral valve surgery IDE study. The ZEUS' robotic arms not only mimic the surgeon’s hand movements, but also scale down the movement, allowing the surgeon to easily make precise and small cuts.
The arms also correct for tremors in a surgeon's hands, which are normal even without fatigue, though a highly traied surgeon will be able to lessen the negative effects. However, some surgeries can last for hours, in which case the surgeon's arms will get tired, and the resulting tremors from fatigue can make the surgeon create false cuts, which can be devastating during a delicate operation. To handle this, the ZEUS is designed to track and nullify these tremors while still responding to the movements/commands of the surgeon's hands.
During the surgery, the surgeon sits at the ZEUS console to control the arms. This can also lessen fatigue, because the surgeon is sitting down during the long operation rather than leaning over the patient.
The ZEUS is also able to perform remote surgery. Because the surgeon is simply controlling the robotic arms, the surgeon can sit at a ZEUS console remote from where the surgery is actually taking place, and still be able to perform the surgery. This technology is not yet advanced enough to make remote surgery over large distances feasible, because the information from the console cannot be transferred fast enough over a long distance to make the surgery safe for the patient. Once this technology has been improved, it can be incredibly beneficial to patients worldwide, because a single highly skilled surgeon in one city can provide life-saving operations to patients in many different cities as long as there is a surgical robot at the hospital where the surgery is taking place.
Users
- December 1, 1998 – Computer Motion Inc. and United States Surgical Corp. agreed to develop and market robotic heart surgery devices using ZEUS.
- 1998 – Dr. Frank Diamiano performed the first procedure in the United States with a reanastomosis of a fallopian tubeFallopian tubeThe Fallopian tubes, also known as oviducts, uterine tubes, and salpinges are two very fine tubes lined with ciliated epithelia, leading from the ovaries of female mammals into the uterus, via the utero-tubal junction...
using ZEUS. - September 24, 1999 – Dr. Boyd of London Health Sciences CentreLondon Health Sciences CentreLondon Health Sciences Centre is a major teaching hospital in London, Ontario, Canada.It operates three hospital facilities:*University Hospital,*Victoria Hospital, and*South Street Hospital.-External links:* - Official site....
's (LHSC) university performed the world's first robotically-assisted closed-chest beating-heart cardiac bypass operation on 60-year-old dairy farmer, John Penner, using ZEUS. - November 22, 1999 – The first closed-chest beating-heart cardiac hybrid revascularization procedure is performed at the London, OntarioLondon, OntarioLondon is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Douglas Boyd used Zeus to perform an endoscopic, single-vessel heart bypass surgery on a 55-year-old male patient's left anterior descending artery. - December 9, 1999 – Dr. Ralph Damiano, Jr., of the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey performed the first robotic-assisted beating-heart bypass in the United States using ZEUS.
- October 9, 2001 – ZEUS received FDA regulatory clearance, following the FDA decision for U.S. surgeons to use a variety of instruments to perform a wide range of robotically assisted laparoscopic and thoracic procedures.