Balgrist University Hospital tests prototype for surgical robot

The prototype of a Functionally Accurate Robotic Surgery(FAROS) research project has been tested at the OR-X Research and Training Center at Balgrist University Hospital, the UKB reports in a press release. The project, which was launched in 2021 as part of the EU's Horizon research program, was carried out by an international research collaboration. The UKB and the University of Zurich took part from Switzerland. The robot developed as part of FAROS should be able to perform complex and high-precision surgical steps independently. To this end, it was given "the necessary tools to understand clinical or surgical situations and to proceed appropriately", Mazda Farshad, Medical Director of the UKB Hospital, is quoted in the press release. Specifically, the robot can use a variety of sensory perceptions. During testing in the OR-X, the prototype has already completed several surgical steps autonomously in a controlled environment. Its accuracy is very promising, explains Philipp Fürnstahl, head of the research group for computer-assisted surgery at the UKB. "We will soon be in a range that is clinically acceptable." Fürnstahl was responsible for the involvement of the UKB and UHZ within FAROS. The two Swiss institutions acted as central links between the research partners from the fields of robotics(Sorbonne University, France), computer science(King's College London, England), sensor technology(KU Leuven, Belgium) and industry(SpineGuard, France). ce/hs