In a groundbreaking advancement CUHK and ETH Zurich successfully conducted the world’s first in vivo teleoperated magnetic endoscopy using an animal model, over a distance of 9300 km.
Two operators were involved in the procedure - a clinician in the operating room in Hong Kong and a remote expert at an operator console in Zurich. The operator used a console in Zurich to interact with the robotic system which was 9300 km away physically over the internet. The communication between the operator console and the robotic system was through a WebSocket, a computer communications protocol which helps in real time data transfer to and from the server.
The robotic platform was installed in a Hybrid Operating Room at the Multi-Scale Medical Robotics Center (MRC), established as part of Hong Kong’s InnoHK initiative. ETH Zurich is one of MRC’s overseas collaborating institutions.
"A remote expert can even instruct trained nurses to perform the procedures. Millions of patients worldwide will be able to be diagnosed and treated for gastrointestinal cancer in a timely manner as endoscopic technology becomes more accessible,"
- Dr Shannon Melissa Chan, Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery of CUHK
Post operative imaging showed the complete retroflexion and tissue biopsy to be comparable to standard devices. This study is indicative of the future potential of this novel technology which can facilitate immediate diagnostic and surgical care in even remote areas which cannot have access to specialised procedures. Possibilities of remote telesurgery can be applied in other areas such as neurovascular and foetal surgery as well.
The CUHK-ETH Zurich research team will now move to apply tele-endoscopy on a human stomach, though they have not said if it will be done in vivo or not.
