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In addition to supplying robotic technology to the medical industry, KUKA Medical Robotics works closely with universities and research institutes engineering healthcare solutions. This has resulted in unique and groundbreaking projects that benefit surgeons and patients.
Forward-thinking and creative solutions make healthcare an exciting area for technological research. Collaboration is an important driver of innovation. That is why we actively support surgical and clinical robotics projects and work with our partners in medicine science and research to develop new key technologies for this growth market.
The KUKA Innovation Award was created to give more space to new ideas in robot-based technologies, such as surgical systems. Each year, KUKA sets a specific theme for developers, graduates, research teams and start-ups to submit their ideas.
This has resulted in unique technology solutions in medicine and AI-powered robotics, some of which have now found their way into clinical use and medical practices.
The BEC Robotics team is developing an image- and tracking-supported robotic assistance system for precise spinal interventions. The biggest challenge is the proximity to the spinal cord, which poses a high risk of injury. The system offers high precision and reduces the likelihood of injury. Applications include tumour removal and the insertion of pedicle screws to stabilize the spine.
Robots in orthopedic surgery currently have limited functions. The Canadian team SERA from the University of Waterloo is developing a collaborative multi-tasking robotic assistant. This approach divides typical workflows into modules with associated tools that can be adapted to the needs of a surgical procedure.
There is a lack of personnel in the medical sector, which is why there is no ultrasound screening campaign. The Italian team AUROVAS from the University of Ferrara is developing an autonomous robotic system that performs standardized ultrasound procedures and identifies relevant vascular indicators. Artificial intelligence processes the ultrasound images to segment vascular structures and provide indicators. The system detects abdominal aortic aneurysms, estimates central venous pressure and detects deep vein thrombosis.
The placement of pedicle screws (PSP) stabilizes the spine during surgery. Team ULTRATOPIA from the KU Leuven and the Hospital Zurich uses collaborative multi-robot systems with non-radiative imaging to improve the accuracy of PSP placement. A robotic arm with an ultrasound probe monitors another robotic drill arm to increase precision, reduce registration errors and take physiological movements into account.
“Designing solutions that help people” is what inspires the developers at ROPCA to constantly work on new medical devices. They entered the KUKA Innovation Award 2022 with ARTHUR. ARTHUR is an AI-enabled robot that interacts independently with patients, automatically scans their hands and provides the ultrasound images to the doctor for the next stage of treatment.
An interdisciplinary engineering team from the Australian start-up company Inventia Life Science entered the competition with its Ligō robot, a new type of 3D bioprinting robotic platform. This prints tiny droplets containing the patient’s skin cells directly into the wound in the operating room, thus improving the functional healing of skin tissue after acute skin injuries such as extensive burns.
The AROKI engineering team from HCIT, IIT Madras in India submitted a project promoting maternal health. The platform integrates the LBR Med robot in order to significantly improve the quality of healthcare for pregnant women and mothers. The team’s robotic solution enables autonomous robotic scanning, 3D ultrasonic reconstruction and teleoperation.
Researchers from the Vrije Univeriteit Brussel have developed a rehabilitation device that uses the LBR Med robot in combination with a soft-sensory physical interface. Additional integrated multimodal sensors enable further levels of safety and comfort in rehabilitation.
The cortEXplore team from Austria is developing a surgical robotic solution that implants neuronal interfaces in the brain. The robot, which is based on the LBR Med, will follow the surgical plan and insert microelectrodes in cooperation with the surgeon.
The medical technology platform HIFUSK combines two technologies: robotics and focused ultrasound. The team from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Italy aims to treat pathological tissue such as cancerous tumors with great precision. Non-invasive ultrasound ensures that no incisions, anesthesia or ionization energy are required. Thanks to machine learning, the robot controller is able to respond to changes in target movements during therapy and is therefore remarkably safe.
The team at the National Center of Robotics has been working on faster and more accurate hair removal using laser beams. The SAHARRA (Semi-Autonomous Hair Removal Robot Assistant) they have developed expedites applications in the field of cosmetic surgery.
The team from the University of Hamburg tackled the challenges that arise when inserting needles during minimally invasive treatments. The insertion process is made more difficult by soft tissue deformation and the fact that the needle bends. They developed the smart CoNeeBot needle, which allows the surgeon to “feel” the tissue environment and thus position the needle more precisely with the surgical system.
With their RAOCT robot, the USA team developed a robot that performs complex eye examinations autonomously. Therefore, the robot-based tomograph could not only assist the surgeon in eye clinics, but could also be used by General Practitioners (GPs) or in other scenarios, since specialist expertise is no longer required for the condition.
The SpheriObot team has been working on a healthcare solution that would facilitate complex, challenging and risky surgery for hip dysplasia. With a precise saw and a robot to guide the movements, SpheriObot is a medical device that can improve accuracy during surgery and reduce the risk of surgical trauma.
The RoboFORCE team developed a highly innovative healthcare solution to make colonoscopies for cancer screening safer, painless and more cost-effective. The research team from Leeds, Vanderbilt and Turin equipped a robotic platform with a magnetic capsule that can navigate through the intestine thanks to its magnetic coupling with an external magnet on an LBR Med. The risk of perforation is therefore drastically reduced. The procedure is made even safer and more effective by using a vision system and creating an external 3D map of the patient.
The technology developed by the RoboFORCE team has been licensed to Atlas Endoscopy for further development and commercialisation.
The team from the 2AI Applied Artificial Intelligence laboratory developed the robot-assisted laser device LaserNAVI for the treatment of vascular lesions on the legs. It automatically detects diseased veins and makes laser guidance, which is traditionally done with the naked eye, far easier.
How can neurosurgical procedures be made safer and shorter? The team from the University of Zagreb developed an interactive robotic system that assists the surgeon as early as the preparation stage. With haptic and visual control methods, iRONNA ensures greater safety throughout the procedure. The IP and technology developed during the project have been licensed to a start-up commercial company RONNA Medical.
Robots can take the strain off personnel – not only during complex medical procedures, but also in the field of wellness and rehabilitation, as the start-up Capsix Robotics shows. The team from Lyon developed iYU®, a massage robot that can adapt to the individual’s back with the help of sensors.
RobUST, which is based on the LBR Med robot, is a medical device for treating microfractures in the spine. The team from Munich set itself the goal of using the robot from KUKAs medical robotics and augmented reality glasses to make the current treatment process more precise, easier to use and more efficient.
