An interactive mechatronic assistance system to support surgical interventions

This paper illustrates the concept of a versatile surgical assistance system which combines an optical navigation system and a mechatronic arm. Compared to pure navigation systems, it offers additional functionality by automatic positioning of surgical instruments in preoperatively planned locations, but it does not perform any action without interaction and control of the surgeon. A particular advantage is given by the applicability of new surgical instruments, such as medical laser systems or microtools, which cannot be used in manual surgery. The mechatronic arm may thus be regarded as a controlled machine actuator of a navigation system that substitutes for manual instrument guidance. Interactive properties are provided by a versatile haptic interface. After successful clinical tests in hip surgery, the modular design concept will be exploited to adapt the system to a variety of surgical applications. (C) 2004 CARS and Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.