2018-214 System and Method for Automated Image Guided Robotic Intraocular Surgery

SUMMARY

UCLA researchers in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Ophthalmology have developed a system and method for automated optical surgery.

BACKGROUND

More than 3.5 million cataract surgeries are performed every year in the United States, with the market estimated at over $7 billion in 2016. While many surgical steps of cataract surgery have been partially or fully automated, the critical step of cataract lens extraction remains a manual operation. This step is also associated with the most common complications of cataract surgery, which are incomplete lens removal and a tear in the capsule holding the new artificial lens. Automation of lens removal using visualization tools and allowing for real-time surgeon feedback would decrease these complications and significantly improve cataract outcomes.

INNOVATION

Professor Tsao and coworkers have developed a robotic surgical platform that incorporates optical tomography for autonomous cataract removal. Highly accurate 3D models are generated and used to automate cataract lens removal, with real-time monitoring and potential intervention by a supervising surgeon. Evaluation of progress can be achieved at regular intervals to ensure complete cataract removal and robot-guided motion prevents inadvertent contact of the tool tip to the artificial lens capsule, minimizing the most common surgical complications.

APPLICATIONS

• Automated cataract removal

ADVANTAGES

• Automated surgical lens extraction only requires review and adjustment from surgeon
• Real-time monitoring allows for assessment of lens removal
• Robot-guided motion prevents inadvertent contact of tool to new artificial lens
• Optical tomography is a non-contact and precise 3D imaging tool

RELATED MATERIALS

• J. T. Wilson, T. Tsao, J. Hubschman and S. Schwartz, "Evaluating remote centers of motion for minimally invasive surgical robots by computer vision," 2010 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Montreal, ON, 2010, pp. 1413-1418, doi: 10.1109/AIM.2010.5695924.
• Wilson JT, Gerber MJ, Prince SW, Chen CW, Schwartz SD, Hubschman JP, Tsao TC. Intraocular robotic interventional surgical system (IRISS): Mechanical design, evaluation, and master-slave manipulation. Int J Med Robot. 2018 Feb;14(1). doi: 10.1002/rcs.1842. Epub 2017 Jul 31. PMID: 28762253.

STATE OF DEVELOPMENT

Model has been developed and demonstrated using porcine eyes.