BK Medical, which is a subsidiary of Analogic, has launched the Advanced Robotic Ultrasound Technology (ART), a complete ultrasound imaging solution used for robotic surgery.
This technology was introduced at the 20th Annual European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Vienna and includes tools, which are specifically meant for robotic assisted surgery, transducers and the Flex Focus 700 Ultrasound System. ART would be of great benefit to surgeons who execute robotic assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and robotic assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) surgeries.
Michael Brock, BK Medical’s President, stated that the company has been working for developing the ART ultrasound solution along with a prominent robotic assisted surgery company and this successful collaboration would provide them an important tool for monitoring and assessing robotic assisted surgical procedures.
The FlexFocus 700 for premium performance along with the RST Robotic Stationary Transducer Arm for ensuring the endocavity transducer during the surgical procedures and the ProART, which is the first dedicated robotic transducer device are included in the ART solution. The ART endocavity transducer has a small diameter, which would cause minimum amount of discomfort to the patient and ensure that none of the moving parts touch the patient. The ensuing three-dimensional data cube could be controlled and the geometry and anatomy of the prostate could be assessed before the surgery. When the surgery begins, the transducer will recognize useful markers and study the posterior border of the prostate during the dissection.
The ProART transducer is created mainly to provide verification and ultrasound guidance during the RAPN procedures and is a curved linear array, which fits easily into a standard trocar. The Flex Focus 700 is a tiny, agile strong frame, which is entirely mobile and includes a remote control and a receptive touch screen, which offers the surgeon control of the ultra sound system from the console. This system can work for almost four hours without an electrical source.