Article of medical robotics in the world. Overview of the state of robotics in restorative medicine. Xenex robotic quartz apparatus

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Robot named "Da Vinci"

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The Da Vinci robot is an advanced surgical robot, the most widespread in the world. The robot is driven by a doctor-surgeon and is equipped with four "arms" - one arm takes pictures and three arms operate - these arms have a maximum degree of freedom and mobility, better than a human hand. These hands are introduced into the operating space on the body through the thinnest incisions and provide the surgeon not only with additional hands for operating, but also with more perfect freedom of movement compared to conventional surgery. The surgeon controls the operation from his control panel, located near the operated patient and from which he sets the operating hands in motion and controls everything that happens in the operating room.

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Advantages of using this device ​ The robot provides the surgeon with a maximum degree of freedom and better mobility, and thus enables him to perform movements that human hand unable to perform. The robotic arm is stronger and more stable than a human arm. The image that the camera transmits to the surgeon is a magnified 3D image that makes it easier to locate the injury and treat it. The surgery is less invasive than conventional surgery because the incisions abdominal wall significantly less than conventional incisions Recovery is faster and hospital stay is shorter Bleeding from the operated area is minimal and the early postoperative period is particularly short

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Operations in progress * Recovery mitral valve* Myocardial revascularization * Cardiac tissue ablation * Installation of an epicardial pacemaker for biventricular resynchronization * Gastric bypass * Nissen fundoplication * Hysterectomy and myomectomy * Spinal surgery, disc replacement * Thymectomy - surgery to remove thymus * Lung lobectomy* Esophagectomy * Mediastinal tumor resection * Radical prostatectomy * Pyeloplasty * Bladder removal * Radical nephrectomy and kidney resection * Ureteral reimplantation

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Kazan State

University of Technology

Abstract on the topic:

Robotics in medicine

Completed by a student of the group

Nigmatullin A.R.

Kazan 2010.

Introduction

1. Types of medical robots

Conclusion

Introduction

In an era of rapid development of science and technology, many different innovations appear in the most various fields. Supermarket shelves are filled with exotic food, clothes from latest materials, and in electronics hypermarkets even further, it is impossible to keep up with the development of new inventions. All the usual old is rapidly being replaced by an unusual, new, which is not easy to get used to. But if there were no progress, then people would not know many mysteries that have not yet been revealed, and nature carefully hides them from us. Despite all this, thanks to the high professionalism of modern physicists, developments in various fields are constantly being carried out. A simple person was hardly puzzled by the question of what new could be introduced into this already infinitely civilized and progressive world. For example, consider our world as it was even one hundred years ago. There were no TVs, no computers, no household appliances, without which modern man everyday life was simply not enough even 10 years ago, when Cell Phones only - just came out and were bulky and very little functional, as for computer technology. Science moves the world forward, and in any area of ​​human life, some kind of innovation is needed. In this example, I would like to choose as a specific aspect - the field of medicine, or rather its technical potential. Medicine also does not stand still, newer and more complex devices appear, for the life support of a person, many devices can be an example of this, for example, an apparatus for artificial ventilation lungs, or artificial kidney apparatus, etc. Miniature blood sugar meters, electronic pulse and pressure meters appeared, this list can be supplemented repeatedly. More specifically, I would like to dwell on the example of the introduction of robotics in the medical industry. Various robots have been created by humans since about the end of the 20th century; over the past time, they have been significantly improved and modernized. At the moment, there are robots - assistants, military development of robots, space, household and of course medical. Next, it is worth analyzing in more detail what types of robots and for what application exist at a given point in time.

Types of medical robots

One of the most famous and celebrated achievements of recent times has been the robot called "Da Vinci", which, as you might guess, was named after the great engineer, artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci. The novelty allows surgeons to perform the most complex operations without touching the patient and with minimal tissue damage. A robot that can be applied in cardiology, gynecology, urology and general surgery, was demonstrated by the Arizona State University Medical Center and Department of Surgery.

During the operation with "da Vinci" the surgeon is a couple of meters from the operating table at the computer, on the monitor of which a three-dimensional image of the operated organ is presented. The doctor controls the subtle surgical instruments penetrating into the patient's body through small holes. Such remote-controlled instruments can be used for precise operations on small and hard-to-reach areas of the body.

Proof of da Vinci's extraordinary capabilities is the world's first fully endoscopic bypass, recently performed at Columbia Presbyterian medical center in New York. The unique operation was performed by Michael Argenziano, Director of the Center for Robotic Cardiac Surgery, and Dr. Craig Smith, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. At the same time, they used only three small holes - two for manipulators and one for a video camera. To understand what this means, only a person who has ever observed a “traditional” operation on open heart.

The actions of the team that "opens" the patient's chest make an indelible impression on the newcomer (on a journalistic assignment I somehow had to be in this role). I still remember goosebumps all over my body from the terrible squeal of a circular saw cutting through the sternum and a huge wound in which hands in bloody rubber gloves were busily scurrying about.

In the United States, bypass or coronary artery bypass grafting is the most common open-heart surgery. Every year, 375 thousand people undergo this procedure here. The widespread introduction of da Vinci could make their lives much easier by helping patients recover faster after surgery and be discharged from hospitals earlier.

Dr. Alan Hamilton, chief surgeon at the Arizona da Vinci testing center, is generally confident that robotics will revolutionize surgery. So far, this revolution is just beginning, but in ... the movie “da Vinci” has already made a splash. The surgical robot played a role in the latest movie of the James Bond series, Die Another Day.

At the beginning of the film, three mechanical hands are shown in close-up rummaging through the body of a captured 007. “da Vinci” is working now. - Films about James Bond have always fascinated me with demonstrations of unprecedented technical innovations. But I never thought that someday the department that I head would cooperate with the Bond producers.

Da Vinci is just one example of the development of a new industry in medicine.

Other robots are used in a variety of operations, up to brain surgery. So far, these devices are quite bulky, but doctors hope for the appearance of miniature assistants. Last summer, for example, the energy department of the American Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque already built the world's smallest one-centimeter-tall robot. And the British corporation Nanotechnology Development is developing a tiny Fractal Surgeon, which will independently assemble from even smaller blocks inside the human body, carry out the necessary actions there and disassemble itself.

Now the robot is equipped with the most advanced "eyes" in the world (as evidenced by the company's press release). He had three-dimensional vision before, but high definition was achieved only now.

The new version allows two surgeons to monitor the operation at once. One of them can both assist and learn skills from senior colleagues. On the working display, not only the picture from the cameras can be displayed, but also two additional parameters, such as ultrasound and ECG data.

The multi-armed da Vinci allows you to operate with great precision, and therefore with minimal intervention in the patient's body. As a result, recovery after surgery is faster than usual (photo 2009 Intuitive Surgical)

Another interesting piece of news. Employees of Vanderbilt University (USA) came up with the concept of a new automatic cognitive system TriageBot. Machines will collect medical information, perform basic diagnostic measurements, and eventually make provisional diagnoses while people deal with more pressing issues. As a result, patients will wait less, and specialists will breathe more freely and significantly reduce the number of errors. Emergency department patients are admitted in a life-threatening condition. Doctors have to give them priority attention. Robots could take care of the remaining 60%. If the project is successful, in five years there will be electronic terminals near the check-in counter, like those installed at airports, as well as special "smart" chairs and mobile robots. On admission, the patient must first of all register. In the proposed system, the accompanying person will be able to enter all the necessary data through a touch screen terminal. Voice prompts available. In this case, the machine will be able to recognize the presence of critical information (for example, acute chest pain) and inform the doctor about it so that the patient can be taken care of as soon as possible. Otherwise, the patient will be directed to the waiting room. A plan for a more detailed diagnosis of the patient is developed in accordance with this initial information. In the proposed system, the simplest procedures can be done already in the waiting room, on a special chair that will measure blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, height and weight. In addition, mobile assistants will periodically check the condition of patients in the waiting room, paying special attention to blood pressure, pulse rate, and possibly pain intensity. In case of detection of critical changes, the robot is obliged to inform the human staff. The last element of the TriageBot system is the administrator who monitors the machines, provides communication with the hospital database and serves as an intermediary between automation and doctors. It is planned to conduct a series of studies during which the exact set of functions of robots and their appearance. At the same time, prototypes are being developed.

For more accurate and convenient calculations, scientists have created a wonderful robot - a pharmacist. The electronic-mechanical marvel that works in the large basement of the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico is called Rosie. The "parent" of this powerful mechanical unit, moving along a four-meter rail in a dark glass-enclosed room, is a new division of Intel Corporation - Intel Community Solutions, which uses the company's achievements to solve social problems.

Kazan State

University of Technology

Abstract on the topic:

Robotics in medicine

Completed by a student of the group

Nigmatullin A.R.

Kazan 2010.

Introduction

1. Types of medical robots

Conclusion

Introduction

In the era of rapid development of science and technology, there are many different innovations in various fields. Supermarket shelves are filled with exotic food, shopping malls are getting clothes made from the latest materials, and electronics hypermarkets go even further, it is impossible to keep up with the development of new inventions. All the usual old is rapidly being replaced by an unusual, new, which is not easy to get used to. But if there were no progress, then people would not know many mysteries that have not yet been revealed, and nature carefully hides them from us. Despite all this, thanks to the high professionalism of modern physicists, developments in various fields are constantly being carried out. A simple person was hardly puzzled by the question of what new could be introduced into this already infinitely civilized and progressive world. For example, consider our world as it was even one hundred years ago. There were no TVs, no computers, no household appliances, without which a modern person simply could not do in everyday life even 10 years ago, when cell phones had just come out and were bulky and very little functional, as for computer equipment. Science moves the world forward, and in any area of ​​human life, some kind of innovation is needed. In this example, I would like to choose as a specific aspect - the field of medicine, or rather its technical potential. Medicine also does not stand still, newer and more complex devices appear for human life support, many devices can be an example of this, for example, a device for artificial lung ventilation, or an artificial kidney device, etc. Miniature blood sugar meters, electronic pulse and pressure meters appeared, this list can be supplemented repeatedly. More specifically, I would like to dwell on the example of the introduction of robotics in the medical industry. Various robots have been created by humans since about the end of the 20th century; over the past time, they have been significantly improved and modernized. At the moment, there are robots - assistants, military development of robots, space, household and of course medical. Next, it is worth analyzing in more detail what types of robots and for what application exist at a given point in time.

Types of medical robots

One of the most famous and celebrated achievements of recent times has been the robot called "Da Vinci", which, as you might guess, was named after the great engineer, artist and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci. The novelty allows surgeons to perform the most complex operations without touching the patient and with minimal tissue damage. The robot, which can be used in cardiology, gynecology, urology and general surgery, was demonstrated by the Arizona State University Medical Center and Department of Surgery.

During the operation with "da Vinci" the surgeon is a couple of meters from the operating table at the computer, on the monitor of which a three-dimensional image of the operated organ is presented. The doctor controls thin surgical instruments that penetrate the patient's body through small holes. Such remote-controlled instruments can be used for precise operations on small and hard-to-reach areas of the body.

The world's first fully endoscopic bypass, recently performed at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, is proof of the extraordinary capabilities of da Vinci. The unique operation was performed by Michael Argenziano, Director of the Center for Robotic Cardiac Surgery, and Dr. Craig Smith, Head of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. At the same time, they used only three small holes - two for manipulators and one for a video camera. Only a person who has ever observed a “traditional” open heart operation can understand what this means.

The actions of the team that "opens" the patient's chest make an indelible impression on the newcomer (on a journalistic assignment I somehow had to be in this role). I still remember goosebumps all over my body from the terrible squeal of a circular saw cutting through the sternum and a huge wound in which hands in bloody rubber gloves were busily scurrying about.

In the United States, bypass or coronary artery bypass grafting is the most common open-heart surgery. Every year, 375 thousand people undergo this procedure here. The widespread introduction of da Vinci could make their lives much easier by helping patients recover faster after surgery and be discharged from hospitals earlier.

Dr. Alan Hamilton, chief surgeon at the Arizona da Vinci testing center, is generally confident that robotics will revolutionize surgery. So far, this revolution is just beginning, but in ... the movie “da Vinci” has already made a splash. The surgical robot played a role in the latest movie of the James Bond series, Die Another Day.

At the beginning of the film, three mechanical hands are shown in close-up rummaging through the body of a captured 007. “da Vinci” is working now. - Films about James Bond have always fascinated me with demonstrations of unprecedented technical innovations. But I never thought that someday the department that I head would cooperate with the Bond producers.

Da Vinci is just one example of the development of a new industry in medicine.

Other robots are used in a variety of operations, up to brain surgery. So far, these devices are quite bulky, but doctors hope for the appearance of miniature assistants. Last summer, for example, the energy department of the American Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque already built the world's smallest one-centimeter-tall robot. And the British corporation Nanotechnology Development is developing a tiny Fractal Surgeon, which will independently assemble from even smaller blocks inside the human body, carry out the necessary actions there and disassemble itself.

Now the robot is equipped with the most advanced "eyes" in the world (as evidenced by the company's press release). He had three-dimensional vision before, but high definition was achieved only now.

The new version allows two surgeons to monitor the operation at once. One of them can both assist and learn skills from senior colleagues. On the working display, not only the picture from the cameras can be displayed, but also two additional parameters, such as ultrasound and ECG data.

The multi-armed da Vinci allows you to operate with great precision, and therefore with minimal intervention in the patient's body. As a result, recovery after surgery is faster than usual (photo 2009 Intuitive Surgical)

Another interesting piece of news. Employees of Vanderbilt University (USA) came up with the concept of a new automatic cognitive system TriageBot. The machines will collect medical information, take basic diagnostic measurements, and eventually make preliminary diagnoses while humans work on more pressing issues. As a result, patients will wait less, and specialists will breathe more freely and significantly reduce the number of errors. Emergency department patients are admitted in a life-threatening condition. Doctors have to give them priority attention. Robots could take care of the remaining 60%. If the project is successful, in five years there will be electronic terminals near the check-in counter, like those installed at airports, as well as special "smart" chairs and mobile robots. On admission, the patient must first of all register. In the proposed system, the accompanying person will be able to enter all the necessary data through a touch screen terminal. Voice prompts available. In this case, the machine will be able to recognize the presence of critical information (for example, acute chest pain) and inform the doctor about it so that the patient can be taken care of as soon as possible. Otherwise, the patient will be directed to the waiting room. A plan for a more detailed diagnosis of the patient is developed in accordance with this initial information. In the proposed system, the simplest procedures can be done already in the waiting room, on a special chair that will measure blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, height and weight. In addition, mobile assistants will periodically check the condition of patients in the waiting room, paying special attention to blood pressure, pulse rate, and possibly pain intensity. In case of detection of critical changes, the robot is obliged to inform the human staff. The last element of the TriageBot system is the administrator who monitors the machines, provides communication with the hospital database and serves as an intermediary between automation and doctors. It is planned to conduct a series of studies during which the exact set of functions of robots and their appearance. At the same time, prototypes are being developed.

For more accurate and convenient calculations, scientists have created a wonderful robot - a pharmacist. The electronic-mechanical marvel that works in the large basement of the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico is called Rosie. The "parent" of this powerful mechanical unit, moving along a four-meter rail in a dark glass-enclosed room, is a new division of Intel Corporation - Intel Community Solutions, which uses the company's achievements to solve social problems.

Rosie's job is to prepare and distribute hundreds of medicines. He works around the clock, practically does not take breaks and at the same time he is not mistaken at all. In two and a half years of service in the hospital pharmacy, there was not a single case when the wrong medicine was sent to the patient. Rosie's work accuracy rate is 99.7 percent, which means that the sorting and dosage of prescribed drugs never differ from those indicated in doctors' prescriptions.

What's more, Rosy helped spot a lot of bugs in a timely manner. Rosie will never send an expired medicine to a sick person. The key to its accuracy is the state quality control standards embedded in the electronic brain of the machine. Meanwhile, according to the data National Institute about 50,000 people die every year in Washington due to medication errors in the country. But the preparation and distribution of medicines is not the only problem that the Presbyterian Hospital has solved with Rosie's help. Before it appeared, it was very difficult to keep track of the release of drugs: employees spent a lot of time counting pills so that not one of them remained unaccounted for. Today Rosie the robot freed them from this routine work.

But that's not all. With a mechanical “hand”, sliding along the rail, Rosie collects small packets of pills hanging along the walls, each of which has a unique barcode. He then puts them in sealed envelopes and sends them to patients.

Two assistant robots were also born - a babysitter robot that takes care of sick people, in particular those suffering from Alzheimer's disease, and a physiotherapist robot that allows people who have had a stroke to adapt faster.

Recently, American Alzheimer's patients received an assistant that makes it easier for them to communicate with doctors and relatives. Equipped with a camera, a screen and all necessary for wireless communication via the Internet, the Companion robot allows a doctor to contact a patient who is in a specialized clinic. The robot is also used to train staff, help patients with mobility issues, and communicate with children. Oddly enough, the patients, who are usually reluctant to accept anything new, reacted to the mechanical interlocutor quite well: they pointed at him, laughed, even tried to talk to him.

According to Yulin Wang, executive director of InTouch Health, the company that created the machine, the use of robots in caring for the elderly can alleviate the problem of the aging of the nation. In conditions when by 2010 the number of pensioners in the country will increase to 40, and by 2030 - up to 70 million, this is very important. In the meantime, the company is going to rent out its robots to nursing homes. In the future, the company plans to create robots that can propel a wheelchair.

A real step into the future was made by engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who replaced the physical therapist with a robot. As you know, people who have had a stroke forget about their usual life for a long time. Over the course of many months and even years, they again learn to walk, hold a spoon in their hands, perform those everyday actions that they had not even thought about before. Now they can be helped not only by doctors, but also by robots.

We are talking about physiotherapy sessions necessary to restore coordination of hand movements. Now patients usually work with doctors who show them the appropriate exercises. In the rehabilitation department of the Boston City Hospital, where a new installation is being tested, a stroke convalescent is invited to use the joystick to move on the screen given trajectory small cursor. If a person cannot do this, a computer-controlled joystick with the help of built-in electric motors will move his hand to the required position.

Doctors were satisfied with the work of the novelty. Unlike a human, a robot can perform the same movements thousands of times a day without getting tired. As for the doctors themselves, they should not be afraid of unemployment: instead of sitting with the sick for hours, they will be able to develop new, more effective training programs.

Since medicine is a rather vast field of science, it has not been without the intervention of modern nanotechnology. Here is what can be noted in this section.

Bacteria flickering randomly under the microscope and suddenly freeze in place. Then, as if by agreement, they begin to line up in a straight line. In a matter of seconds, microbes take their places in the column, and then the whole system comes into motion - bacteria, as if on command, turn synchronously to the left.

The movements of microbes are indeed controlled. This is done by a scientist sitting at the console - professor at the Polytechnic School of Montreal Sylvan Martel. Created by a Canadian scientist, the installation controls the movement of bacteria using a magnetic field with an accuracy of thousandths of a millimeter. Recently, the researcher showed his device in action. 5000 bacteria coordinated moving microscopic polymer blocks in a drop of water and folded them into a miniature structure.

This is just the beginning of the tests. In the near future, such a "labor force" can be used with greater benefit - in medicine. For many years, laboratories around the world have been trying to create MICROROBOTS that could perform various operations inside the body of patients. Things have not gone further than the simplest prototype engineers. Now scientists have the opportunity to take a detour - microorganisms are replacing complex and inefficient devices.

The structure erected by bacteria can only be seen under a microscope. It resembles an Egyptian pyramid. The similarity is not accidental. “Pyramids are one of the first human steps to create really complex structures,” says Sylvan Martel. “We thought it would be symbolic if the microorganisms did just such a task.” Real pyramids have been built for many years. Bacteria managed the model in 15 minutes. This, despite the fact that the building blocks were much larger than the "workers" themselves.

Microorganisms worked together. Under the microscope, 5000 bacteria looked like a continuous dark cloud. This swarm hangs over one of the "bricks". In the next second, the microbes begin to slowly but surely push the block to the place specified in the drawing. “We are just testing the technology so far,” says Martel. “In principle, all the same things can be done much faster.”

The secret of success lies in the outstanding abilities of these microorganisms. Canadian scientists use Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum bacteria in their work. “It turned out that these are real champions,” explains Martel. “They move an order of magnitude faster than other bacteria.” In addition, these microorganisms are sensitive to magnetic fields - they accumulate iron compounds in large quantities. Scientists do not yet understand very well why microbes themselves need this. But now it is clear how a person can use such a feature. With the help of a magnetic field, Martel forces the bacteria to turn in the right direction. Then they move independently - they have special flagella that work like ship propellers.

They can move not only in a drop of water under a microscope. A Canadian scientist introduced bacteria into the blood of laboratory rats and, using a magnetic field, forced the microbes to maneuver in the vessels. It turned out that bacteria are able to move even against the current. True, they managed to overcome the flow only in small capillaries, where the blood circulated slowly. In large arteries, "swimmers" were hopelessly carried away - the speed of the liquid there reached several tens of centimeters per second. These microbes are not capable of multiplying in the blood, so their presence did not affect the health of rodents. Microorganisms moved through the vessels for some time, and then died.

The efficiency of bacterial engines would be the envy of any engineer. “The main problem that attempts to create medical MICROROBOTS break down is their dimensions,” says Vladimir Lobaskin, a physicist at University College Dublin. “The size requirements for these devices are such that it is very difficult for them to create a sufficiently powerful motor.” Lobaskin himself is engaged in theoretical calculations of the efficiency of just such microscopic engines. The "technical characteristics" of Martel's bacteria made a great impression on the physicist: "This is an almost ready-made system for solving medical problems."

It seems that the developers of real MICROROBOTS really have nothing to answer to this. One of the most recent prototypes was created a few years ago at the Swiss Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems. It is a tiny metal spiral that can only be seen under a very powerful microscope. Once in an alternating magnetic field, it begins to rotate and work like a propeller. The direction of movement of this device can also be controlled using magnets.

Over time, developers expect to use it to deliver drugs to various tissues. human body. So far it's not working out very well. These products are about ten times slower than the "living robots" that are being used in Canada. There is no need to even talk about maneuvers in the blood vessels. This is not surprising, Martel is sure. Over millions of years, evolution has done a good job with bacteria. It will be very difficult to quickly create the same perfect artificial device.

That is why biotechnologists from the Korean National Chunnam University tried to combine two opposing approaches in their work. The prototype of the medical MICROROBOT created by them is built from a synthetic polymer and human heart muscle cells - cardiomyocytes. The cells are stretched on a flexible plastic frame on special legs. By contracting, the cells set the entire structure in motion, and the device begins to move with its feet. The developers suggest that in the future such robots will be able to travel across blood vessels man clinging to the walls. Such products will be able to function for a very long time - the "cellular engine" uses glucose dissolved in the blood as fuel.

“Just a few years ago, talking about robots delivering drugs to certain points in the body seemed like a fantasy,” says Alexei Snezhko, a physicist at the Argonne National Laboratory (USA). “Now it is clear that in the very near future they will begin to be tested on humans.”

How it will look like is already clear. In one of the latest experiments, Sylvan Martel and his colleagues introduced bacteria into the body of a rat with cancer. And then they put her in a medical tomograph. These devices use strong magnetic fields to build three-dimensional maps of the patient's body. After a slight alteration, the installation turned into a command post for microbes. With its help, scientists conducted bacteria through the circulatory system of the rodent directly to the area of ​​the tumor. Microorganisms delivered a training load - a fluorescent substance - to the affected area. Soon Martel plans to repeat the experiment. This time, the bacteria will carry the anticancer drug.

Also, nanotechnologists have demonstrated quite impressive samples of electronic skin. E-skin felt the touch of a butterfly for the first time

A lattice of the thinnest semiconductor filaments, combined with electrodes and changing the conductivity in response to pressure with PSR type rubber (above), was turned by Californian craftsmen into a "skin patch" (below) (illustrations by Kuniharu Takei et al./Nature Materials).

In this drawing of the skin of a robot, each black square corresponds to one "pixel", an elementary point responsible for touch (illustration by Ali Javey and Kuniharu Takei, UC Berkeley). The authors advertise skin sensitivity with a colorful fantasy: a robot with such a manipulator could easily handle a chicken egg, without dropping it or crushing it (illustration by Ali Javey, Kuniharu Takei/UC Berkeley).

Another illustration of the sensitivity of the Stanford sensor: it registers the touches of the Peruvian butterfly Chorinea faunus (photo by L.A. Cicero/Stanford University).

Many copies have already been broken around the problem of creating a robotic analogue of the largest human organ. Main question– how to reproduce incredible sensitivity skin who can feel the breath of a breeze from a flying insect? Recently, two research groups from California simultaneously announced their impressive answers.

The first team, from the University of California at Berkeley, chose nanowires as a key element for their artificial skin. According to the scientists in a press release, they grew tiny germanium and silicon filaments on a special drum, and then rolled this roller over a substrate - an adhesive polyimide film.

As a result, scientists received an elastic material, the structure of which included nanowires that played the role of transistors.

On top of them, the researchers applied an insulating layer with a periodic pattern of thin holes, and even higher - touch-sensitive rubber (PSR). Conductive bridges were made between rubber and nanowires using photolithography (for this, holes in the insulator layer were needed) and, finally, flavored a sandwich with a thin aluminum film - the final electrode. (The authors of the system presented the details in the Nature Materials articles). Such an elastic set is able to determine and precisely localize areas to which pressure is applied. This skin received a banal and predictable name - e-skin. New technology allows you to use a variety of materials as a substrate, from plastic to rubber, as well as include molecules of various substances in its composition, for example, antibiotics (which can be very important). An 19 x 18 matrix fit on an experimental piece of e-skin measuring 7 x 7 centimeters pixels. Each of which contained hundreds of nanorods. Such a system turned out to be able to register pressures from 0 to 15 kilopascals. Approximately these levels of stress are experienced by human skin when typing on a keyboard or holding a small object on the weight.

Ali Javey, head of the Berkeley e-skin project (photo by UC Berkeley)

Scientists point to a very definite advantage of their development over analogues. Most projects of this nature rely on flexible organic materials that require high voltage to operate.

Synthetic leather from Berkeley is the first made from single crystal inorganic semiconductors. It operates at a voltage of only 5 volts. But what is even more interesting - experience has shown that e-skin can withstand up to 2000 bends with a radius of 2.5 mm without loss of sensitivity.

Sensitive manipulators capable of handling fragile objects can be assumed as an obvious future application for such skin.

An ultra-accurate cybernetic hand can be additionally equipped with sensors for heat, radioactivity, chemicals, covered with a thin layer of drugs and used on the "fingers" of robotic surgeons or rescuers.

In the latter case (when robots work with people), it will be very important from the point of view of safety that the electronic skin from Berkeley, like the human one, feels touch almost instantly (within milliseconds). In theory, it could completely cover a robot arm or even an entire machine.

Top: Professor Zhenan Bao, leader of the Stanford project. Bottom: Such a simple polymer film with aluminum conductors served as the starting point for building a new skin (photo by L.A. Cicero/Stanford University, Stefan C. B. Mannsfeld et al./Nature Materials).

The second development, originally from Stanford University, takes a different approach. According to the scientists in a press release, they placed a layer of highly elastic molded rubber between the two electrodes.

Such a film accumulates electric charges like a capacitor. The pressure compresses the rubber - and this, in turn, changes the number of electrical charges that the sandwich can store, which is determined by the electronics through a set of electrodes.

The described process allows you to detect the lightest touch, which scientists have proven by experience. They used flies as a "tester". During the experiment, a square matrix with a side of seven centimeters and a millimeter thick felt the landing of insects weighing only 20 milligrams, and reacted to their touch with high speed.

Under a microscope, the matrix looks like a field dotted with pointed pyramids. In such a material, these pyramids can be from hundreds of thousands to 25 million per square centimeter, depending on the required spatial resolution.

Such a technique (instead of using a continuous layer of rubber) was necessary, since the monolithic material, as it turned out, lost its properties when squeezed - the accuracy of registering charges fell. And the free space around the microscopic pyramids allows them to easily deform and restore their original shape after the load is removed.

The flexibility and strength of the Stanford e-skin proved to be very high. It cannot be stretched, but it is quite possible to bend it by wrapping it around, for example, the arm of a robot.

And therefore, as areas of application of their development, scientists again see surgical robots. But not only. Artificial skin could become the basis of electronic bandages, - American researchers argue, - capable of signaling when tightening too weak or dangerously strong. And such sensors could accurately record the degree of compression by the hands of the steering wheel, warning the driver in time that he is falling asleep.

Both teams claim that they will continue to develop this area of ​​​​experimentation. So the robots of the future, most likely, will still receive skin that is close in capabilities to a human one. And even if outwardly it will be noticeably different from ours, its sensitivity will give a new meaning to the concept of an android robot.

A sensational statement was given by a company producing video cards for computers. We didn't have time to write about the first surgical operation performed exclusively by the "hands" of robots, as NVIDIA prepared another "bomb" from the world of medicine. At the California conference GTC 2010, the manufacturer of graphics chips announced a very bold idea - to perform heart surgery ... without cardiac arrest and opening the chest!

The robot surgeon will perform the operation using manipulators brought to the heart through small holes in the patient's chest. On-the-fly imaging technology digitizes a beating heart, showing the surgeon a 3D model that he can navigate in exactly the same way as if he were looking at the heart through an open chest. The main difficulty is that the heart makes a large number of movements in a short time - but, according to the developers, the power of modern computing systems based on NVIDIA GPUs is enough to visualize the organ, synchronizing the movements of the robot's tools with the heartbeat. Due to this, the effect of immobility is created - it does not matter to the surgeon whether the heart is "worth" or working, because the robot's manipulators make similar movements, compensating for the beating!

So far, all information about this incredible technology consists of a short video demonstration, but we will look forward to more information from NVIDIA. Who would have thought that a graphics card company was planning to revolutionize surgery...

And Japanese craftsmen never cease to amaze with pleasant novelties. A new robot bear carries people in its arms

The Japanese settled on the "favorable image of a teddy bear", believing that a humanoid robot would only frighten patients (photo by RIKEN, Tokai Rubber Industries)

The Japan Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (BMC RIKEN) and Tokai Rubber Industries (TRI) yesterday unveiled a "bear-like" robot designed to assist nurses in hospitals. The new machine literally carries patients in its arms.

RIBA (RobotforInteractiveBodyAssistance) is an advanced version of the RI-MAN android.

<...>Compared to its predecessor, RIBA has made significant progress.

Like RI-MAN, a beginner is able to gently lift a person from a bed or a wheelchair, carry him in his arms, for example, to the toilet, and then deliver him back and just as carefully put him to bed or put him in a stroller. But if RI-MAN carried only dolls weighing 18.5 kg fixed in a certain position, RIBA already transports living people weighing up to 61 kilos.

The growth of the "bear" is 140 centimeters (RI-MAN - 158 cm), and it weighs 180 kilograms with batteries (predecessor - 100 kg). RIBA recognizes faces and voices, executes voice commands, navigates the collected video and audio data, which it processes 15 times faster than RI-MAN, and "flexibly" reacts to the slightest changes in the environment.

The arms of the new robot have seven degrees of freedom, the head has one (later there will be three), and the waist has two degrees. The body is covered with a new soft material developed by TRI, like polyurethane foam. The motors are fairly quiet (53.4 dB) and the omnidirectional wheels allow the machine to maneuver in tight spaces.

Well, of course, without prosthetics in medicine, nowhere. Therefore, here too there are scientists and engineers tirelessly developing new devices. Namely, the Laboratory of Applied Physics. D. Hopkins brought a new surprise. During the joint implementation of the DARPA project and the Laboratory of Applied Physics. D. Hopkins (Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, APL) prepared for the start of testing with the participation of people the next generation of a prosthetic arm, called the Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL). As planned by the developers, the artificial limb will be completely controlled by the brain through sensors implanted in it and even provide tactile sensations by sending electrical impulses from external sensors to the corresponding area of ​​the cerebral cortex. Last month, APL announced a $34.5 million contract with DARPA that should allow researchers to test their design on five individuals over the next two years.

It is expected that the third phase of testing - trials with the participation of people - will make improvements both in the control system of the neuroprosthesis and in the algorithm for generating feedback signals. MPL, which has gone through many years of prototyping, supports 22 types of movements, independent control of each finger, and weighs as much as a real human hand (about 4 kilograms). The researchers plan to start testing by equipping a paralyzed patient with a prosthesis. The neuroprostheses implemented so far have been designed to replace amputees, while MPL allows for a larger number of cases to be covered, including ailments associated with impaired normal functioning. spinal cord, since the control signals are "removed" directly from the brain. In the course of improving the development, researchers still have to solve a considerable number of difficulties and difficulties, both already known and those that will undoubtedly be identified during testing. Among these problems is the short life span of the currently existing neurointerfaces. Silicon chips embedded in the liquid tissues of the body are quite intensively destroyed, fail and need to be replaced approximately every two years. Earlier this year, DARPA announced the Histology for Interface Stability Over Time program, which aims to increase the lifespan of neuroimplants by up to 70 years. Although APL and DARPA are the main development partners, many other institutions are also involved in the research process. For example, the University of Pittsburgh has already completed work on implanting monkeys with implants that allow them to control robot arms, the California Institute of Technology will help develop the design of the brain-computer interface, and the University of Chicago will participate in the implementation of a system of tactile sensors.

Robot assistants will be gradually introduced, the task of which will be to directly assist doctors, these models are already used in some clinics of foreign medicine. Yurina, a robot from the Japanese company Japan Logic Machine that is able to carry bedridden patients like a hospital gurney, only much smoother.

More interestingly, Yurina can transform into a wheelchair controlled by touchscreen, controller or voice. The robot is agile enough to move in narrow corridors, which makes it a really good assistant for real doctors. We should also mention the video demonstration, which is definitely worth watching with the sound turned on. We will never know what the directors of the video were guided by, accompanying the video sequence with such ominous music, but the combination of a “good robot” and a completely inappropriate sound track will definitely provide you with a portion of healthy laughter.

The good news was the invention of robotic wheelchairs, with the help of special sensors it is much more convenient to control this chair, but the novelty requires some improvements, which will be implemented in the near future.

One of the most nice days in the life of a dog breeder, it can be considered such when a four-legged pet fully masters following the owner and will accompany him always and everywhere, without requiring constant pulling on the leash. And thanks to the efforts of a team of scientists from Saitama University (Saitama University), a similar concept can now be applied to ... wheelchairs.

The robotic chair carries a camera and a distance sensor on board, with the help of which the system tracks the position of the shoulders of a person walking next to the chair. Due to these devices, the chair “understands” in which direction a person is moving, accordingly repeating his path. For the person sitting in the chair, this way of moving is more enjoyable because the wheelchair moves smoothly rather than being pushed forward by a companion.

The robotic chair is also capable of avoiding obstacles, although to a certain extent. The idea is undoubtedly good, but it needs some refinement. Imagine the following situation: a person is sitting in a chair, and the assistant at this time is talking animatedly and gesticulating with someone (respectively, making movements with the torso, shoulders and arms). Will the chair really “crawl” from side to side all the time, repeating the movements of the assistant’s shoulders? The creators definitely have work to do.

Conclusion

The value of robots - assistants for humans.

Robot assistants play a huge role in modern medicine. This industry is still quite young and is at the initial stage of development, but, despite this, some developments have already been introduced all over the world, they function successfully and bring indispensable assistance to employees of medical institutions. The main problem in my opinion is that if in developed countries with a stable positive economy these innovations are introduced immediately after the official mass robotization, then in developing countries they will come much later, and in third world countries these developments will be very late and in the near future there will definitely not be will these unique developments. The fact is that all these products are very expensive and their purchase will require considerable funding, which not all countries can handle. Therefore, in the future it is necessary to raise the question of reducing the cost of this equipment within reason, with the help of certain conferences and meetings of heads of government.