Samsung Hospital Unveils Humanoid Surgical Assistant Robot

"Hand me the scissors." The humanoid robot standing next to the operating table began to move in response to the medical staff's voice command. After scanning the tray with surgical tools using its camera, the robot picked up the scissors. It took less than two seconds for the robot to start moving after the doctor's command was given.

On September 16, at the Samsung Life Insurance building in Gangnam, Seoul, Samsung Medical Center publicly unveiled its humanoid surgical assistant robot, which is currently under development, in a setting that closely resembles an actual operating room.

The event showcased various scenarios, including three robots performing surgical tasks via remote control, a surgeon assisted by two robots, and participants trying out a multi-jointed robotic hand that moves like a human hand.

In a simulated gallbladder removal surgery involving one surgeon and three robots, goat liver was used instead of a real patient or live animal. A large screen displayed the organ's tissue and the robot's movements in real-time, captured by a laparoscopic camera.

The robot assisted in pulling the surgical site to ensure visibility and helped confirm the location of the gallbladder duct and blood vessels relative to surrounding tissues. It then demonstrated the critical steps of the gallbladder removal procedure, including securing the duct and blood vessels with clips before cutting. The robot effectively performed the role of a surgical assistant by handing tools to the medical staff, holding the endoscopic camera, and applying consistent force to tissues, thereby minimizing interruptions in the surgical flow and allowing the medical team to focus on essential tasks.

Samsung Medical Center highlighted the collaboration between medical staff and multiple humanoid robots as a distinguishing feature of this demonstration. They explained that both remotely operated robots and AI-controlled surgical assistant robots were utilized together.

Professor Jeong Yong-ki, the lead researcher and an otolaryngology specialist, assessed South Korea's robotic technology as being "world-class," noting that the country has a favorable environment for advancing related research due to the presence of skilled medical professionals, robotics companies, and AI researchers.

The humanoid robot demonstrated clear differences from existing surgical robots like the da Vinci system. While da Vinci is a specialized robot designed for surgical procedures, the humanoid robot used in this research focuses on versatility and scalability, capable of performing various tasks depending on the tools and control methods attached to its arms.

Professor Jeong stated, "Using multiple fingers on a multi-jointed robotic hand will allow for more stable handling in situations where tools are difficult to grasp or overlap with each other."

The roles of the surgical robots can be categorized into three main functions: 'OR-Scrub' for preparing and delivering surgical instruments, 'OR-Scope' for holding the endoscope and pulling tissues to ensure visibility, and 'OR-TeleOp' for directly moving surgical instruments under the surgeon's remote control. Professor Jeong explained that in the future, operating rooms may feature a setup where surgeons work alongside multiple robots.

The core technologies of the robots include 'RCM (Remote Center of Motion)' for maintaining consistent instrument insertion points, 'Visual Servoing' for automatically correcting movements by tracking targets with a camera, and 'Voice Recognition (AI)' for translating the surgeon's verbal commands into actions.

According to Samsung Medical Center, laboratory evaluations showed that both voice command recognition and action success rates exceeded the target of 95%. The success rate for handling five types of surgical tools was 100%, and the delivery success rate was 98.7%. The time taken to start actions after command recognition was within two seconds, with a final goal of achieving this within one second.

Safety features are also in place, including emergency stop voice commands and dedicated pedals and buttons. In the event of an emergency stop, the robot immediately halts and retracts, allowing medical staff to push it away as its joint power is released. However, discussions regarding liability for robot malfunctions in medical disputes have yet to take place. Professor Jeong remarked, "This is an important issue, but the technology is not yet mature enough for discussion."

Addressing variables that arise during actual surgeries, such as bleeding, surgery delays, and anatomical differences among patients, remains a challenge for the future. High-difficulty procedures like incisions and suturing are still in the research phase.

Samsung Medical Center plans to conduct its first clinical trials in 2029, targeting gallbladder and pituitary tumor surgeries across four hospitals. The plan is to gradually expand the scope of application, starting with lower-risk auxiliary tasks such as maintaining endoscopic visibility and adjusting positions during laparoscopic surgeries.

Regarding the timeline for applying the technology to actual patient surgeries, they stated, "The timing will vary depending on the roles assigned to the robots." The hospital believes it may be possible to consider clinical applications for roles such as holding the endoscope and adjusting its position during surgery.

The ultimate goal outlined by Samsung Medical Center is to alleviate the shortage of medical personnel. By assigning repetitive tasks to robots, medical staff can concentrate on critical surgical procedures, thereby filling gaps in rural and nighttime emergency situations where personnel are scarce. Professor Jeong stated, "We aim to provide a certain level of surgical assistance even in areas with a shortage of staff, such as rural hospitals or nighttime emergency surgeries."

Recently, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, claimed that "robots will surpass human doctors within three years," a statement that some experts believe is not entirely unfounded. A joint research team from Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University previously demonstrated autonomous surgery using the da Vinci robot on excised pig gallbladders, as reported in Science Robotics. However, there are concerns about the gap between such experiments and actual clinical applications, as they do not involve live animals.

This project began after Samsung Medical Center was selected as the lead institution for Korea's ARPA-H in July of last year. It will be conducted over 54 months, concluding in December 2029, with a total government-supported research and development budget of approximately 13.835 billion won.

Samsung Medical Center is responsible for defining clinical requirements and overseeing the demonstration. Rainbow Robotics is developing the robot's main body, while AIDIN Robotics is responsible for the gripper and robotic hand development. Sungkyunkwan University and Seoul National University are involved in AI software development, and the National Cancer Center and Jeonbuk National University Hospital are tasked with data collection and demonstration.