Nerves of Steel – How “Doctor Robot” Helps Doctors in the Hospital

The patient is under anesthesia on the operating table. A buzzing sound is heard. Delicate gripping arms move above him. They cut, mend and sew the wounds. The surgeon sits at a console, the telemanipulator. The 3D camera gives him an accurate view of the patient’s abdomen. The situation is reminiscent of a science fiction movie.

Dr Robot as colleague
But the high-tech assistant has long arrived in operating rooms, and the technology is constantly being refined. Its main advantage is that “Dr. robot” in complex operations. “The multi-armed device must be controlled by human hands. It does not run independently by a computer program,” said Professor Albert Tuchmann of the Surgical Society.

The operator at the console sees the image from the abdominal cavity and sews with a better view. Another advantage is the mobility of the instruments. The doctor’s movement is transmitted to the patient via the arm system. “Dr. Robot” works precisely and shows no fatigue even after hours. But not only robotic medicine is on the rise, a lot is also happening in diagnostics.

Major advances have been made in cancer
This includes pushing back the cancer with radiation, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy, and performing the surgery at a much better stage when the tumor is smaller or mostly dead. This has improved the results in, for example, esophageal cancer and rectal cancer.

When the medical congress takes place in the Hofburg from 15 to 18 August, 1000 surgeons will discuss topics such as gastrointestinal surgery, liver, pancreas, bariatric surgery, breast, thyroid, accidents, etc.