Wireless solutions enabling robotic minimally invasive interventions

Robotic minimally invasive surgery was born as a response to the quest for precise, reliable, repeatable, and targeted therapy. After introducing some definitions for setting the stage in the field, this talk will deal with different approaches and robot architecture for reaching the interventional area and for bringing the therapeutic actions where needed. Robotics and image-guided solutions naturally answer the quest for improving accuracy and reliability. Articulated robots, able to enter the human body through minimal access or a natural orifice have been developed by exploiting smart transmission mechanisms. In parallel, soft robotic technologies have evolved to answer the quest for safe interaction and improved flexibility. The quest for minimal invasiveness in surgery and therapy has steered the research interest towards wireless energy delivery methods. Ultrasound and magnetic fields have the potential to change the paradigm of targeted therapy, by reaching in a scarless way all human body organs and by triggering different effects, from dragging to propulsion and ablation. This talk aims to present the above-mentioned trends, with the support of specific examples coming from the speaker experience and her collaboration network.