In a groundbreaking achievement, Chinese surgeon Professor Zhang Xu performed the world's first remote transcontinental telesurgery from Rome to Beijing, spanning over 8,000 kilometers. This cutting-edge procedure marks a significant milestone in medical robotics and telemedicine.
Conducted live at a conference in Italy, Professor Zhang utilized a surgical console to remotely guide robotic arms, successfully removing a lesion from a patient's prostate. The operation was closely monitored by a team of Chinese medics, including a backup surgeon, at the Third Medical Center of the People's Liberation Army General Hospital.
One of the most critical factors in telesurgery is latency, or the delay in communication between the surgeon and the remote robotic system. In this historic surgery, the latency was only 135 milliseconds, well below the 200-millisecond threshold suggested by various medical studies, ensuring precision and real-time responsiveness akin to an on-site procedure.
\"The biggest problem with a remote surgery is communication – whether there is any delay,\" said Professor Zhang Xu, the director of the Urology Department at the Third Medical Center of PLA General Hospital. \"During today's surgery, there was almost no delay, and it was almost the same as an on-site surgery.\"
Vito Pansadoro, chairman of the conference on Challenges in Laparoscopy, Robotics and AI, hailed the achievement as a historical moment. \"The fact that he was able to do it in Rome makes us very, very happy,\" Pansadoro commented.
Following the success of this operation, the team plans to explore the application of this technology in directing surgical treatments for military personnel, potentially revolutionizing medical procedures in various fields.
Reference(s):
Chinese team perform world-first robotic surgery from Rome in Beijing
cgtn.com
