“Overview and Forecasting of 21st Century Robotics for Healthcare”

Lecture held on 26 June 2018 at Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The lecture was presented in two parts.  First, Professor Russell H Taylor, Director of the Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University, gave a perspective on 30 years of research in medical robotics. 

He presented a wide range of range of projects which he has led, advancing the development of surgical robots.  These invariably required the following elements for success:

• a good understanding of the requirements for the existing or potential surgical procedure
• a strong need for robotic enhancement
• implementation of state-or-the-art technology for sensing, computing and control, actuation, materials, and mechanical design
• effective systems integration.

Prof Taylor started, nearly 30 years ago, developing robotics for joint replacement surgery.  Current commercial systems, notably the da Vinci robot, "put the surgeon inside the patient" with stereo visualisation and the fully flexible manipulation capability.  The key to developing such systems, according to Prof Taylor, is to create synergy between doctors, technology and information.

The second presentation was given by Professor Just L. Herder from Delft University of Technology.  Professor Herder is Chair of Interactive Mechanisms and Mechatronics, and his main application focus was robotics for rehabilitation.  However, his underpinning philosophy was one of innovative mechanical design. 

In many mechatronics systems, the actuation and mechanics are there to provide appropriate degrees of freedom and power delivery.  The behaviour and functionality is programmed in: it is the domain of the computer controller.  Prof Herder argued, very convincingly, that through thoughtful mechanical design, a device can be given more appropriate inherent behaviour for the task in-hand, reducing the requirements for the mechatronic part of the system.  In a way, some of the ‘intelligence’ is incorporated in the mechanism.  Specific advances included designs for static balancing (inspired by Anglepoise lamps), dynamic balancing, and friction-free joints. Orthoses and exoskeletons are important applications, and Prof Herder showed how lightweight, skin-hugging designs are facilitated by this approach.