Surgical Robot Outperforms Human Surgeons in Precise Removal of Cancerous Tumors

The Autonomous System for Tumor Resection (ASTR) designed by researchers at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, MD, USA) translates human guidance into robotic precision. This system builds upon the technology from their Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR), which previously conducted the first fully autonomous laparoscopic surgery to connect the two intestinal ends. ASTR, an advanced dual-arm, vision-guided robotic system, is specifically designed for tissue removal in contrast to STAR's focus on tissue connection. In tests using pig tongue tissue, the team demonstrated ASTR's ability to accurately remove a tumor and the required 5mm of surrounding healthy tissue. After focusing on tongue tumors due to their accessibility and relevance to experimental surgery, the team now plans to extend ASTR's application to internal organs like the kidney, which are more challenging to access. Combining ASTR's surgical precision with advanced imaging techniques could significantly advance tumor removal procedures.

“We’ve sent the robot to make an incision before, but this is the first time we’ve done a bulk resection and taken a tumor out fully,” said team leader Axel Krieger, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Whiting School of Engineering. “That’s the big novelty here.”

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