Thijs Meenink, a researcher from the Eindhoven University, has developed a robot that is capable of assisting ophthalmologists in performing quick and precise eye surgeries.
Thijs Meenink and his eye surgery robot. Photo: Bart van Overbeeke.
The robot is especially effective while operating on the retina and the vitreous humour of the eye. Meenink has developed this robot as part of his thesis for PhD.
Some of the sophistications offered by the robot in performing eye surgeries are filtering of tremors, targeting of the same location every time, facilitating quick instrument change, ensuring highly precise movements and providing maximum comfort for the surgeon during operation. The robot successfully filters out the tremors that occur due to the unsteadiness of the surgeon's hands during surgery. The robot works on the master-slave mechanism, where the ophthalmologist enjoys total control and operates as the master using two joysticks. The two robotic arms act like slaves mimicking the movements of the ophthalmologist to perform the surgery with minute instruments.
The robot is programmed in such a way that it enters at the same location every time. Meenink has put in place an instrument changer, which facilitates instant changing of surgical instruments. Surgeons also offer haptic feedback. As is known, optic surgeons work purely by sight and the forces utilized for eye surgeries are normally too small to be felt. The robot, however, has the capability to measure these miniscule forces and scale-up and transmit the same to the joysticks. The robotic system ensures maximum ergonomic comfort for the surgeon while performing the surgery.