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means that other avenues must be explored. Improving surgeon tools
is one such option. Despite hacksaws and scalpels being reliable
surgical tools, the growing number of procedures on the surgical
table means that surgeons require tools that offer high levels of
control and precision, time and time again.
Another factor driving the growth of surgical robots and
equipment is that the increase in the number of surgeries is having
a negative impact on the surgeon’s own wellbeing. Longer periods
spent in the operating theatre are leading to medical professionals,
especially orthodontic surgeons, suffering from fatigue and leading to
painful back, neck and wrist conditions. These conditions can
shorten careers and keeping surgeons healthy is clearly a top priority.
Pairing these factors with the continual lower cost of robotic and
powered applications means that there is currently a hotbed for the
creation and implementation of new medical and surgical
applications.
As such, surgical robotics and equipment present a key tool to
better manage and prolong the career lifecycle of these talented
individuals. It is, therefore, crucial to improve the tools at their
disposal and surgical robots and powered equipment are two
important methods that achieve this.
One major aim of the surgical robotics industry is to develop
general medical robots that can perform a host of different clinical FAULHABER Precision Gearheads
options. However, we must overcome many design barriers before Expand your
this can become a reality. The robots must be adaptable, meaning
possibilities
they must have extremely precise actuation so they can adapt to new
situations. For example, the French-designed vision control for
The new family of planetary
endoscopy (ViKY) is tailored to meet every day medical
gearheads FAULHABER GPT.
requirements. To ensure precision and repeatability, it uses a range Move up a gear where others
of FAULHABER brushless DC-motors, such as those supplied by downshift.
EMS. Thanks to this precision, the system can be used just as faulhaber.com/GPT/en
effectively in different areas, such as gynaecology, urology or gastro-
intestinal, bariatric and thoracoscopic surgery.
NEW
NEW
Another major development in this field is the type of control
mechanisms becoming available. For example, virtual reality
applications are making large strides in becoming more versatile and
precise. Control mechanisms of this sort could show surgeons never NEU
NEU
before seen details to help drive surgical precision.
As robots become cheaper to design and develop, it is likely that
we will begin to see the first general medical robot in the next five
to ten years.
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