An automated knot tying device for minimally invasive robot-assisted cardiac surgery delivered consistent knots with time savings of 12.5% and 26.4% over manual knots for trained and untrained users.
Does an automated knot-tying device reduce knotting time compared to manual knotting in robot-assisted cardiac surgery?
An automated knot-tying device for robot-assisted cardiac surgery reduces knotting time by 12.5% to 26.4% compared to manual tying, potentially decreasing bypass time and improving adoption of minimally invasive techniques.
Effect estimate: 12.5% and 26.4% time savings
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is perhaps the most significant worldwide health issue. While open-heart surgery remains the predominant treatment, significant advancements have been made in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and minimally invasive robot-assisted (MIRA) surgery. MIRA techniques offer many advantages over open-heart procedures and have extended the capabilities of MIS. However, these benefits come at the cost of increased operating times due to time spent tying knots. The additional bypass time limits patient access and is the most significant barrier to the adoption of MIRA techniques. This research seeks to overcome this barrier by designing a device for MIRA cardiac procedures that automates the knotting of sutures. If this task can be automated while ensuring the delivery of high-quality knots, great progress can be made in transforming the field. MIRA cardiac procedures can move from novel procedures performed by a select group of surgeons on a limited pool of patients to a viable alternative available to the majority of patients with CVD. In this research we propose a design for a self-contained device that delivers a locking knot. Results suggest that consistent knots can be delivered at a time savings of 12.5% and 26.4% over manual knots for trained and untrained users of a surgical robot, respectively.
Kuniholm et al. (Fri,) conducted a other in Cardiovascular disease. Automated knot tying device vs. Manual knots was evaluated on Time savings for delivering consistent knots (12.5% and 26.4% time savings). An automated knot tying device for minimally invasive robot-assisted cardiac surgery delivered consistent knots with time savings of 12.5% and 26.4% over manual knots for trained and untrained users.