UROBOT group

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System Overview

URobot was developed from the Surgeon Assistant Robot for Prostatectomy (SARP), developed at Imperial College, London, UK, in 1991. SARP was derived from a six-axis PUMA robot which was modified by the addition of a prismatic axis for moving a resectoscope, which is a a surgical tool equipped with light source, optical fibre, and hot loop for electrocautery (see picture). SARP was designed to conduct transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). An earlier experiment with PUMA, conducted in 1988, had established the feasibility of robotic prostatectomy.


PUMA experiment, 1988 (Imperial College) An industrial robot modified for mock TURP	Elements of a resectoscope for TURP

Before SARP was built, a manual frame was developed in 1989 (see picture) to investigate the possibility of spatially controlled resection. The manual frame features a ring and a diametral arch. A carriage which rides on the arch carries the resectoscope for the surgeon. The motion of the device produces a conical cavity beyond a pivot point placed at the verumontanum (the "veru"). The veru forms the junction of the ejaculatory duct and the urethra, and provides an important landmark which must not be damaged. Thirty-nine cases conducted in 1989 and 1990 proved that the surgeon could manipulate such a device and use it successfully to conduct TURP with results similar to traditional manual resections.

Kinematics scheme of SARP

Manual frame, in use on a patient, 1990.

A motorised version of the manual frame - SARP - was built in 1990. It was used on a patient successfully on 25 Mar 1991 in Shaftesbury Hospital, Institute of Urology, London, UK. This is perhaps the world's first robotic surgery on soft tissue; tissue was repeatedly systematically resected in small quantities from a live patient. Video footage of this pioneering work is available from Dr. Brian Davies.


Conical cavities resected in a potato by SARP	Motorised frame SARP, in use on a live patient, 25 March 1991

SARP was further developed from 1993 until 1995 in Imperial College. Renamed PROBOT (a robot for prostatectomy), it was eventually featured on BBC-TV's "Tomorrow's World" in January, 1996. Click here to view the video footage of the programme.

PROBOT, shown mounted on a Philip arm, 1992

In Singapore, development has continued under the guidance of Dr. Ng Wan Sing, who was a member of the pioneering team at Imperial College. The CIMI (Computer-Integrated Medical Intervention) Research Group at NTU has developed a universal platform called URobot (robot for urology). Some of the potential advantages of the use of a robot are:-

Quicker training of surgeons, compared to current procedures.
Cost savings from reduced surgical times, lower staffing requirements, and shorter training periods.
Consistency and hence standardized operation.
Positional certainty and confined movement, which can lead to improved post-operative outcomes.

URobot is designed to be used with current treatment modalities such as interstitial laser coagulation (ILC), laser resection, and hot loop TURP to treat prostate enlargement. It can also serve as a platform for novel modalities such as electroporetic drug delivery, radiological seed implantation, and cryogenic therapy for prostate cancer.

The lab prototype of URobot was built in 1994 to 1996. Dornier Asia Medical Systems collaborated with our group to produce a commercial prototype, named Surgeon Programmable Urological Device (SPUD), in September, 1995. SPUD commenced clinical trials in Changi General Hospital (Singapore) in 1998.


URobot lab prototype, 1995	Operating room layout for URobot prototype

SPUD Surgeon Programmable Urological Device	SPUD, in use on a patient, 9 Apr 1998