28 February 2025
Researchers from the University of Utah have described their efforts to create a robot for retinal surgery that minimises the effect of unintended movements in Science Robotics.
The robotic surgery device is designed to be mounted to the patient’s head using a helmet. It is capable of controlling movements to one micrometre, which is smaller than a single human cell.
The authors highlighted that head motion is common among patients undergoing eye surgery and has the potential to complicate subretinal injections.
They also shared that robotic assistance has the potential to help the surgeon more precisely position the injection cannula and maintain its position for a prolonged period of time.
In experiments using enucleated pig eyes mounted on a human volunteer, researchers found that robotic assistance resulted in a significant improvement in the ability to perform subretinal injections compared with the manual approach.
Moran Eye Center retinal surgeon and co-author, Eileen Hwang, highlighted that robotic assistance may make it possible for patients to have subretinal injections under intravenous (IV) sedation, rather than general anaesthesia.
“IV sedation allows for faster recovery and is safer in some patients. Robots may also allow for more precise delivery of gene therapy medication compared to manual injections for more reproducible, safer treatments,” she said.
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