ANAHEIM, CA (UroToday.com) - Dr. Aron reported their initial experimental evaluation of a flexible robotic system (Hansen Medical Mountain View Ca) for diagnostic and therapeutic ureterorenoscopy in five female swine. This system is composed of a remote catheter manipulator (RCM), a workstation console, an electronics rack, a steerable scope (12F) and outer sheath (14F), which are in turn, controlled with a joystick by a surgeon at the console. 85/86 calyces were successfully inspected in 10 kidneys. The time required to inspect the collecting system was 49secs-15min. Both reproducibility (the ability to examine the calyx 3x) and stability (the ability to stay in position for 5 min) were rated 10/10 on a visual analogue scale while the auto-retract mechanism was rated at 8/10. All calculi inserted in these kidneys were successfully fragmented. Only one out of ten kidneys (10%) had a perforation after the procedure. The authors should be commended for such an excellent work on their initial experience with robotic flexible ureteroscopy. This platform will undoubtedly serve as the take-off point for the future development of a fully flexible robotic system which could be applied either endoluminally or transabdominally through a single skin incision or through a natural orifice (NOTES). Potentially, it could make the rigid robotic platform a thing of the past.

(ABST [V1051] )

Moderator: Craig S. Niedeberger

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