Using robots to increase the accuracy of surgical interventions

In many surgical procedures the surgeons are faced with the difficulty to guide their instruments to the desired positions, because they do not have enough visual information about the target location, and/or cannot achieve the necessary precision without support of any technical equipment. This paper contributes to the solution of this problem by presenting a new concept which combines a passive digitizing system and an active robotic system. The desired position and orientation of the surgical instrument are calculated from intra-operative data which are supplied by a 3D digitizing system in combination with pre-operative image data. A robotic system is used to move the surgical instrument to the target locations with an adequate precision. The major aspects of the concept are discussed and demonstrated by applying it to an exemplary orthopaedic procedure.