First globally broadcast remote robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy

Telemedicine offers patients in isolated regions the convenience of remote consultation and treatment, alleviating issues related to the uneven distribution and development of medical resources. However, the implementation of remote surgery still faces technical and operational hurdles, primarily revolving around data transmission speed and surgical precision.

In a study published in the in the KeAi journal Intelligent Surgery, researchers from China completed a remote robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy across 1,200 km by using the Edge Multi-Port Endoscopic Surgical Robot MP1000 (Edge MP1000) and 5G communication technology. The surgery, which was broadcast live across the network, demonstrates the feasibility of this technology, and marks a new stage in remote medical technology.

The surgeon was located at the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing. Operation instructions were entered using the surgical console, and were then transmitted via the dedicated network data line to the slave console in Wuhan and converted into actual operative actions. The three-dimensional images captured by the endoscope from the slave console served as visual signals, and were transmitted back to the surgeon console's screen in real time via a 5G network dedicated line, forming a closed-loop operation. 

Notably, the remote communication host system of the surgical robot was capable of monitoring and recording the surgical process and network status, while providing intelligent assistance functions. There was sufficient interaction between the teams on both sides, allowing smooth communication and tacit cooperation.

“This achieved the specific requirements of low latency, high precision and high reliability for surgical operations,” says Yuanguang Meng, lead researcher of the case report. “Data showed that the bidirectional latency during the surgery was only 19 ms, with a maximum jitter of about 3 ms in rare moments, and a frame drop rate of approximately 0.2%.”

The patient recovered well postoperatively and was discharged on the fourth day with no postoperative complications.

Contact the author: Wei Zhang, zw6676@163.com

Funder: This work was supported by grants from the Key Project of the Research Program of Hubei Province (2023BAA016-4).

Conflict of interest: Professor Yuanguang Meng and Wei Zhang are the editorial board members for Intelligent Surgery and were not involved in the editorial review or decision to publish this article. All authors declare that there are no competing interests.

Article: Feasibility and safety evaluation of ultra-remote robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy,Intelligent Surgery,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isurg.2024.09.001