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[January 2007]

 The spread of robotics and image guided surgical navigation in recent years has led to several alternative computer-assisted techniques for achieving the same surgical results. This seminar heard speakers, most of whom were surgeons, describing their own preferred methods, allowing the audience to compare and contrast the benefits of different technologies. Of particular note was the comparison between optically tracked navigation systems and image-guided robotics.

Papers were grouped into orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery and endoscopic surgery. The audience, who were an evenly balanced mix of engineers and clinicians, were invited to raise questions after each paper and several lively discussions ensued.

The final section of papers looked ahead to the future and considered the next generation of surgical robotics, and the technologies required to implement them. General trends towards miniaturisation and advanced control techniques were explored. The interesting tug between demand pull and technology push was very evident. Finally a round table discussion involving all the speakers allowed some more general questions to be aired.