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Background: The clinical effectiveness of robotic arm-assisted systems remains unclear for total hip arthroplasty (THA) in patients suffering from osteoarthritis secondary to developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Methods: Patients with DDH who underwent primary THA were included in this study. We conducted a propensity score-matched comparison between THAs using a robotic arm-assisted system (Mako group) versus those using the manual procedure (manual group) to compare the absolute differences in cup placement angles measured using postoperative computed tomography and those planned preoperatively. Results: A total of 217 patients with osteoarthritis due to DDH met the inclusion criteria. Eighty-four patients were matched as the Mako group and 84 as the manual group. The differences were smaller in the Mako group than the manual group in terms of both inclination and anteversion angles (1.1 ± 1.0 versus 4.2 ± 3.1, respectively; 95% CI, 2.4 to 3.8; p < 0.0001, and 1.2 ± 1.1 versus 5.8 ± 4.0, respectively; 95% CI, 3.7 to 5.5; p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The robotic arm-assisted system may provide more accurate cup placement in THA for DDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mobile robot with a robotic arm needs to be able to autonomously perceive the operating environment and plan the trajectory of the object's surface in order to perform surface cleaning tasks in a complex, unstructured environment. This study suggests an autonomous trajectory planning technique for cleaning an object's surface based on RGB-D semantic segmentation, which enables the robotic arm to move the cleaning mechanism on the object's surface smoothly and steadily and finish the cleaning process. More particularly, it contains the following: (1) A Double Attention Fusion Net (DAFNet) RGB-D semantic segmentation network is proposed, which successfully integrates color texture features and spatial structure features and enhances the semantic segmentation performance of indoor objects. This network is based on the dual attention mechanism (channel attention and spatial attention). (2) The trajectory planning algorithm for the robot arm is created, and the semantically segmented data is clustered using DBCSCAN. In order to achieve autonomous planning of the cleaning trajectory, the target subject is first extracted, and then the working trajectory of the robot arm is generated via the processes of edge detection, slicing, sampling, fitting, etc. We also compare the accuracy of DAFNet semantic segmentation and other algorithms on SUNRGBD and self-built datasets, experiment with trajectory generation for various objects, and evaluate the online surface cleaning procedure. According to the experimental findings, the DAFNet semantic segmentation model is more accurate than the current models. According to the online test, the trajectory generated has a good degree of smoothness and continuity, and the robotic arm is capable of completing the surface cleaning operation effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the in-depth development of high-tech industries, especially in the fields of production, manufacturing, aviation, and medical care, most of the work needs to be accomplished with the help of machines. As a high-tech product, a robotic arm plays an irreplaceable role in high-risk and high-precision engineering, such as arc welding, spraying, and assembly. At the same time, with the increasing requirements of scientific and technological production processes, robotic arm tasks are becoming increasingly complicated. Robotic arm trajectory tracking control in industry also has increasingly higher standards. Furthermore, external interference sources invariably affect the robotic arm control system when it is in operation. Therefore, existing manipulator control systems can no longer meet the requirements of industrial production. This paper aims to realize the tracking control of the trajectory of a robotic arm through a neural network algorithm. This research offers an adaptive neural network control method to solve the manipulator trajectory tracking control problem. To increase the control effect and overall performance of the manipulator, a neural network is employed to address the uncertainty in the control system as well as the interference of external elements. Experiments reveal that a neural network-based manipulator trajectory control and tracking system can effectively regulate the manipulator's operation and improve its overall performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-pressing challenges of societal ageing, robotic technologies for older people are increasingly portrayed as a solution for better independent living for longer. However, the application of human-following robots for elderly citizens has not yet been considered, and any prospective benefits offered by the technology for active ageing have previously been overlooked. This qualitative research aimed to explore older people's needs and requirements towards the human-following robot through the reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data from 17 independent older adults, supported by a video-based demonstration of the robot. The results indicate that older people believed that human-following robot has the potential to provide social benefits to an independent older adult by encouraging walking trips and prompting social interaction with others in the community. Practical limitations and cost of the robot are barriers to adoption at present. The findings indicate that there is potential for human-following robots to support active ageing, through increasing opportunities for the social participation of an older adult, but further development of the robot is needed for this potential to be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-pressing challenges of societal ageing, robotic technologies for older people are increasingly portrayed as a solution for better independent living for longer. However, the application of human-following robots for elderly citizens has not yet been considered, and any prospective benefits offered by the technology for active ageing have previously been overlooked. This qualitative research aimed to explore older people's needs and requirements towards the human-following robot through the reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interview data from 17 independent older adults, supported by a video-based demonstration of the robot. The results indicate that older people believed that human-following robot has the potential to provide social benefits to an independent older adult by encouraging walking trips and prompting social interaction with others in the community. Practical limitations and cost of the robot are barriers to adoption at present. The findings indicate that there is potential for human-following robots to support active ageing, through increasing opportunities for the social participation of an older adult, but further development of the robot is needed for this potential to be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laparoscopic (LPD) and robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy (RPD) are both challenging procedures. The feasibility and safety of simultaneously developing LPD and RPD remain unreported. We retrospectively reviewed the data of patients undergoing LPD or RPD between 2014 and 2021. A total of 114 patients underwent minimally invasive pancreaticoduodenectomy (MIPD): 39 LPDs and 75 RPDs. The learning process of LPD and RPD were similar. The cutoff points of the learning curve were LPD, 13th patient (the 27th patient of MIPD), and RPD, 18th patient (the 31st patient of MIPD) according the cumulative sum analysis of operative time. A decrease in the operative time was associated with the case sequence (p < 0.001) but not with the surgical approach (p = 0.36). The overall surgical outcomes were comparable between both the LPD and RPD groups. When evaluating the learning curve impact on MIPD, LPD had higher major complication (≧ Clavien–Dindo grade III), bile leak and wound infection rates in the pre-learning curve phase than those in the after-learning curve phase, while RPD had similar surgical outcomes between two phases. Simultaneous development of LPD and RPD is feasible and safe for experienced surgeons, with similar learning process and comparable surgical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robots bring eventful impacts to the workplace, benefiting from the advantages of implementing any technology should be based on the premise of safety. This work proposes a systematic method to establish a postprocessor module for any specified 6R articulated robot. Instead of obsessively emphasizing achieving the desired locations and orientations by hand guiding grab and dragging a robotic arm for operation in teaching mode, the significant end-effector poses are calculated to form a new path for the joints efficiently in this study. Since robotic motion control is usually a complex system whose users must be well trained and acquainted with using them. There is a need for a GUI solution that can provide intuitive robotic motion control on the current location by the user independently, easy setup, arrangement, adjustment, and monitoring robot motion tasks. The proposed system simplifies the interaction between the technician and the industrial robotic arm in the case of robotic motion control and tracking at a distant location. The presented method is fully adapted to alternate between joint angles and end-effector poses on a graphic user interface system. After developing the capabilities of the solver, a functional postprocessor is programmed inside the proposed GUI system. Examples with specified posture and predefined movements are demonstrated for corroborating the algorithm. The results show considerable efficiency and reliability in task planning and are fully supported for automatic path generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of intelligent factories, collaborative robotic arms are becoming the critical equipment for flexible production lines, and digital twin is the best way to realize intelligent and digitized collaborative robotic arm. This paper designs and develops a collaborative robotic arm monitoring system based on digital twin and proposes a six-dimensional system architecture. Key technologies such as equipment twin modeling for the assembly process, multi-source heterogeneous data acquisition, and digital twin–driven real-time monitoring are studied. The system is driven by twin models and real-time data, and based on the key physical characteristics of the collaborative robotic arm. The model and data are effectively integrated to realize real-time monitoring of the assembly process and provide support for intelligent decision-making. The effectiveness and feasibility of the system are verified by running the application on the UR5 and UR10 collaborative robotic arm assembly test benches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of modern industry, the surface of workpieces is becoming increasingly complex, and workpieces present the trend of small personalized batches. Robot polishing has become one of the required precision machining methods because of their excellent flexibility, ample working space, and strong maneuverability. Therefore, this paper reviews a series of precision machining methods based on robotic technology. First of all, the seven aspects of the operating principle of industrial robot polishing system like robot polishing force control technology, robot polishing trajectory planning, robot polishing path planning, robot teaching programming technology, robot polishing vibration control, multi-robot polishing control technology, and commercial robotic polishing systems, have been carried on in detailed by discussion and analysis. Secondly, researches on the basic architecture of the polishing robot are concluded by two aspects as researches on structure classification of the polishing robot and design of robot polishing end-effector. Finally, the study of robot polishing and future work are summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a fast parallel lossless technique and a lossy image compression technique for 16-bit single-channel images. Nowadays, such techniques are "a must" in robotics and other areas where several depth cameras are used. Since many of these algorithms need to be run in low-profile hardware, as embedded systems, they should be very fast and customizable. The proposal is based on the consideration of depth images as surfaces, so the idea is to split the image into a set of polynomial functions that each describes a part of the surface. The developed algorithm herein proposed can achieve a similar—or better—compression rate and especially higher speed rates than the existing techniques. It also has the potential of being fully parallelizable and to run on several cores. This feature, compared to other approaches, makes it useful for handling and streaming multiple cameras simultaneously. The algorithm is assessed in different situations and hardware. Its implementation is rather simple and is carried out with LIDAR captured images. Therefore, this work is accompanied by an open implementation in C++. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rigid-flex printed circuit boards (PCBs) are used in many applications that range from mobile electronic devices to low-volume medical tools. Dynamic characterization of a rigid-flex system is difficult because the system exhibits large deformation in the joints, panel-to-panel contact, and other sources of dynamic nonlinearities and complexities not present in traditional PCBs. To date, rigorous test methods for the dynamic characterization of rigid-flex PCB systems have not been proposed. The objective of this paper is to present a case study of a rigid-flex PCB system from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), demonstrating nonlinear characterization and a modal testing protocol that sufficiently characterizes the frequencies, mode shapes, damping, and nonlinear properties of the structure. Additionally, single panels and a rigid-flex assembly without aluminum components are tested to draw more generalized conclusions regarding appropriate test protocols for other rigid-flex systems. The nonlinear characterization of the rigid-flex structures was performed using the test for homogeneity, an examination of energy-dependent resonance and damping, and the use of the Hilbert transform. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended to first use the Hilbert transform to efficiently identify the presence of a nonlinearity then investigate energy-dependent frequency characteristics and nonlinear damping, which are likely to be influenced by the rigid-flex system's geometry. All of the rigid-flex systems exhibited energy-dependent frequency characteristics and damping nonlinearities that increased with increased range of motion of the PCB panels about the Nomex hinges and increased with an increase in the number of hinges activated in a particular mode. However, the addition of the aluminum reinforcing components reduced both forms of nonlinearity. To enable modal testing of the rigid-flex structure with aluminum components, it was necessary to understand the resonance replicability and the sensitivity to suspension and excitation orientation to separate noise from local and global resonances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grinding of blades for aeroengines under constant normal contact force is challenging. The surface roughness (Ra) and profile dimensional accuracy of the blades have notable influence on the overall performance and service life of aeroengines. This study aimed to minimize the influence of the changes in the normal contact force on Ra and the uniformity of material removal depth (MRD) in the cut-in/cut-off stage of robotic abrasive belt grinding and in the parts that undergo large changes in curvature. First, we established models for predicting Ra and MRD using orthogonal central composite design theory and a broad learning system algorithm. Second, by combining the established predictive model and applying the sensor-measured grinding force, we established a multiple learning backtracking search algorithm to derive the adaptive process parameters for the optimization objective function. Finally, the grinding quality was experimentally evaluated using the obtained process parameters, and the maximum errors between the test values and model-predicted values of Ra and MRD were 14.2% and 13.4%, respectively. The test results indicated that the method proposed in this article may be effective for achieving consistent Ra and MRD, which can considerably improve the quality of blade grinding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROM's) are increasingly used to assess surgical outcomes in low-risk surgeries such as minimally invasive primary ventral and incisional hernia repair. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to systematically summarize the available evidence for the effect of laparoscopic versus robotic primary ventral and incisional hernia repair on PROM's. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Randomised control trials, retrospective and prospective studies were included. Medline, Embase, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL, and two trial registers were searched. Pooled effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals were calculated using the Mantel–Haenszel method. The overall quality of evidence was assessed using GRADE. Results: Of the 2728 titles screened, eight studies involving 41,205 participants were included. Return to activities of daily living, return to work day and recurrence rate were statistically better in the robotic group. Length of stay, readmission, postoperative pain, quality of life, body image, and patient satisfaction were similar in both groups. The GRADE rating of the quality of evidence was moderate for postoperative pain and low to very low for the quality of life, length of stay, recurrence and readmission. Conclusion: The available data of PROM's of laparoscopic and robotic primary ventral and incisional hernia repair is scarce and highly heterogeneous, thus making it difficult to assess the superiority of the laparoscopic technique over the robotic technique. Further studies with uniform reporting of PROM's in laparoscopic and robotic primary ventral and incisional hernia repair are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The InSight lander carried an Instrument Deployment System (IDS) that included an Instrument Deployment Arm (IDA), scoop, five finger "claw" grapple, forearm-mounted Instrument Deployment Camera (IDC) requiring arm motion to image a target, and lander-mounted Instrument Context Camera (ICC), designed to image the workspace, and to place the instruments onto the surface. As originally proposed, the IDS included a previously built arm and flight spare black and white cameras and had no science objectives or requirements, or expectation to be used after instrument deployment (90 sols). During project development the detectors were upgraded to color, and it was recognized that the arm could be used to carry out a wide variety of activities that would enable both geology and physical properties investigations. During surface operations for two martian years, the IDA was used during major campaigns to image the surface around the lander, to deploy the instruments, to assist the mole in penetrating beneath the surface, to bury a portion of the seismometer tether, to clean dust from the solar arrays to increase power, and to conduct a surface geology investigation including soil mechanics and physical properties experiments. No other surface mission has engaged in such a sustained and varied campaign of arm and scoop activities directed at such a diverse suite of objectives. Images close to the surface and continuous meteorology measurements provided important constraints on the threshold friction wind speed needed to initiate aeolian saltation and surface creep. The IDA was used extensively for almost 22 months to assist the mole in penetrating into the subsurface. Soil was scraped into piles and dumped onto the seismometer tether six times in an attempt to bury the tether and ∼ 30 % was entrained in the wind and dispersed downwind 1-2 m, darkening the surface. Seven solar array cleaning experiments were conducted by dumping scoops of soil from 35 cm above the lander deck during periods of high wind that dispersed the sand onto the panels that kicked dust off of the panels into suspension in the atmosphere, thereby increasing the power by ∼15% during this period. Final IDA activities included an indentation experiment that used the IDA scoop to push on the ground to measure the plastic deformation of the soil that complemented soil mechanics measurements from scoop interactions with the surface, and two experiments in which SEIS measured the tilt from the arm pressing on the ground to derive near surface elastic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural influences are pervasive throughout human behaviour, and as human–robot interactions become more common, roboticists are increasingly focusing attention on how to build robots that are culturally competent and culturally sustainable. The current treatment of culture in robotics, however, is largely limited to the definition of culture as national culture. This is problematic for three reasons: it ignores subcultures, it loses specificity and hides the nuances in cultures, and it excludes refugees and stateless persons. We propose to shift the focus of cultural robotics to redefine culture as an emergent phenomenon. We make use of three research programmes in the social and cognitive sciences to justify this definition. Consequently, cultural behaviour cannot be explicitly programmed into a robot, rather, a robot must be designed with the capability to participate in the interactions that lead to the arising of cultural behaviour. In the final part of the paper, we explore which capacities and abilities are the most salient for a robot to do this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Minimally invasive resection of the retroperitoneal duodenum is complicated because of its anatomical location, and the proximity of the ampulla of Vater and vascular structures. Benign or indolent pathology can add complexity to operative decision-making for these already challenging surgeries, and operations associated with lower morbidity may be considered. This study describes a novel robotic transmesenteric approach to duodenal sleeve resection for non-malignant lesions. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on a prospectively maintained institutional database between 2011 and 2021. The Da Vinci XI or SI platform (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA) was used in all cases. Results: Critical steps in robotic sleeve duodenectomy include the following: (1) techniques for avoiding damage to the ampulla; (2) Kocherization and reverse Kocherization; and (3) A transmesenteric approach for further mobilization of the duodenum. Nineteen patients were referred by experienced gastrointestinal endoscopists after endoscopic management was deemed unsuitable or their resections were incomplete. The histological diagnoses were either symptomatic benign or indolent duodenal pathology. All 19 patients underwent robotic duodenal sleeve resection during the study period. Lesions were located in the third to fourth parts of the duodenum. The median operative time was 216 min (IQR: 199–225), and the estimated intraoperative blood loss was 50 ml (IQR: 50.0–93.7). The 90 day readmission rate was 15.7% (3/19), and no 90-day mortality was observed. Conclusion: This small case series of a transmesenteric approach for robotic sleeve duodenectomy demonstrates its feasibility and safety in this potentially challenging operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Robotic hepatectomy has gained increasing acceptance across the US. Although the robotic approach offers significant technical advantages, it is still bound by the individual surgeon's learning curve. Proficiency in this approach should theoretically lead to improved peri-operative outcomes. Methods: Between 2017 and 2020, data on 148 consecutive robotic hepatectomies performed by a single surgeon was retrospectively analyzed. Using cumulative sum (CUSUM) method, intraoperative blood loss (EBL) and operative time were used to assess learning curves for robotic major (n = 58) and minor (n = 90) hepatectomy patients. Perioperative outcomes were compared in regards with proficiency. Results: Proficiency for robotic major and minor hepatectomy was achieved after 22 cases and 34 cases, respectively. No significant differences were observed in patient demographics or tumor characteristics. For robotic major hepatectomy, when compared to early experience, proficiency was associated with a significant improvement in mean EBL (242 mL vs 118 mL, p = 0.0004), operative time (330 min vs 247 min, p = 0.0002), decreased overall complication rate (23% vs 3%, p = 0.039), and length of hospital stay (5.7 days vs 4.1 days, p = 0.004). No difference in conversion rate, mortality or 30 day readmission was seen. For robotic minor hepatectomy, proficiency was associated with significantly decreased mean EBL (115 mL vs 54 mL, p = 0.005), operative time (168 vs 125 min, p = 0.014), and length of hospital stay (2.8 days vs 2.1 days, p = 0.021). No difference was observed in conversion rate, overall complications, mortality or 30 day readmission. Conclusion: In the modern era, robotic hepatectomy offers a safe approach with excellent perioperative outcomes. Post learning curve proficiency is associated with significant improvements in perioperative outcomes in both major and minor hepatectomy. Results from our study can serve as a guide to surgeons and programs looking to adopt this technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is unclear how to best establish successful robotic training programs or if subspecialty robotic program principles can be adapted for general surgery practice. The objective of this study is to understand the perspectives of high-volume robotic surgical educators on best practices in robotic surgery training and to provide recommendations transferable across surgical disciplines.Methods: This multi-institutional qualitative analysis involved semi-structured interviews with high-volume robotic educators from academic general surgery (AGS), community general surgery (CGS), urology (URO), and gynecology (GYN). Purposeful sampling and snowballing ensured high-volume status and geographically balanced representation across four strata. Interviews were transcribed, deidentified, and independently, inductively coded. A codebook was developed and refined using constant comparative method until interrater reliability kappa reached 0.95. A qualitative thematic, framework analysis was completed.Results: Thirty-four interviews were completed: AGS (n = 9), CGS (n = 8), URO (n = 9), and GYN (n = 8) resulting in 40 codes and four themes. Theme 1: intangibles of culture, resident engagement, and faculty and administrative buy-in are as important as tangibles of robot and simulator access, online modules, and case volumes. Theme 2: robotic OR integration stresses the trainee-autonomy versus patient-safety balance. Theme 3: trainees acquire robotic skills along individual learning curves; benchmark assessments track progress. Theme 4: AGS can learn from URO and GYN through multidisciplinary collaboration but must balance pre-existing training program use with context-specific curricular needs.Conclusions: Robotic surgical experts emphasize the importance of universal training paradigms, such as a strong educational culture that balances autonomy and patient safety, collaboration between disciplines, and routine assessments for continuous growth. Often, introduction and acceptance of the robot serves as a stimulus to discuss broader surgical education change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gamification applies game design elements to non-game contexts in order to engage participation and increase learner motivation. Robotic surgery is gaining popularity in general surgery but requires specialized technical skills. We sought to determine whether gamification of robotic simulation training could increase robotic simulator utilization among general surgery residents. Methods: General surgery residents were recruited and sent weekly progress on simulator performance including leaderboards for 4 weeks during the intervention periods. There were also two control periods setup in an ABAB study design. Usage time and mean scores were compared between the control periods and intervention periods. A post-study qualitative assessment interview using semi-structured interviews determined barriers and motivational components of simulator usage. Results: Fifteen general surgery residents enrolled in the study (n = 15). Intervention increased total simulator usage time 9.7-fold from 153 to 1485 min. Total simulator days increased threefold from 9 to 27 days. Resident participation increased from 33 to 53%. Median average scores were higher during the intervention periods (58.8 and 81.9 vs 44.0). During the first intervention period, median individual-level simulator usage time increased 17 min (P = 0.03). However, there was no individual-level increase in median usage minutes or days during the second intervention period. Qualitative assessment determined barriers to be limited time due to clinical duties, and simulator availability while motivational factors included competitive factors such as leaderboards and gaming aspects. Potential improvements were increasing attending visibility of scores to increase recognition of progress by the residents and creating dedicated time for training. Conclusion: Gamification of robotic simulation training increased general surgery resident participation, usage time and scores. Impact was not durable. Instituting dedicated practice time and more attending engagement may increase trainee motivation and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The relationship between intraoperative surgical performance scores and patient outcomes has not been demonstrated at a single-case level. The GEARS score is a Likert-based scale that quantifies robotic surgical proficiency in 5 domains. Given that even highly skilled surgeons can have variability in their skill among their cases, we hypothesized that at a patient level, higher surgical skill as determined by the GEARS score will predict individual patient outcomes. Methods: Patients undergoing robotic sleeve gastrectomy between July 2018 and January 2021 at a single-health care system were captured in a prospective database. Bivariate Pearson's correlation was used to compare continuous variables, one-way ANOVA for categorical variables compared with a continuous variable, and chi-square for two categorical variables. Significant variables in the univariable screen were included in a multivariable linear regression model. Two-tailed p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of 162 patients included, 9 patients (5.5%) experienced a serious morbidity within 30 days. The average excess weight loss (EWL) was 72 ± 12% at 6 months and 74 ± 15% at 12 months. GEARS score was not significantly correlated with EWL at 6 months (p = 0.349), 12 months (p = 0.468), or serious morbidity (p = 0.848) on unadjusted analysis. After adjusting, total GEARS score was not correlated with serious morbidity (p = 0.914); however, GEARS score did predict EWL at 6 (p < 0.001) and 12 months (p < 0.001). All GEARS subcomponent scores, bimanual dexterity, depth perception, efficiency, force sensitivity, and robotic control were predictive of EWL at 6 months (p < 0.001) and 12 months (p < 0.001) on multivariable analysis. Conclusion: For patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy, surgical skill as assessed by the GEARS score was correlated with EWL, suggesting that better performance of a sleeve gastrectomy can result in improved postoperative weight loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: General surgery has the fastest growing robotic operative volume in the United States, but most robotic curricula are focused on basic psychomotor skills. There are limited curricula focused on advanced robotic technical and related non-technical skills. We describe a novel pilot curriculum for robotic hiatal hernia repair developed for senior surgical residents to provide training and standardized assessment of higher-order robotic technical and leadership skills. Methods: Twelve senior residents, post-graduate year (PGY) 4 & 5, participated in a robotic hiatal hernia repair skills curriculum. Residents completed a pre- and post-survey on confidence and ability ratings on a 5-point Likert-type Scale, and a knowledge assessment. An informal faculty-led didactic was provided prior to the simulation. Residents were scored on two validated assessment tools: Ottawa Surgical Competency Operating Room Evaluation (O-SCORE) and Global Ratings Scale of Operative Performance (GRS) by faculty proctors. Results: Confidence in ability to independently complete a robotic hiatal hernia case increased from mean of 2.6 ± 0.8 to 3.3 ± 0.6 (p = 0.0007). Following the simulation, residents reported increased overall confidence and ability to operate independently with mean scores of 3.3 ± 0.8 and 3.8 ± 0.9, respectively. Mean O-SCORE and GRS scores were 3.6 (range 2 – 4) and 25.4 (range 12 – 31), respectively. Number of prior live robotic cases was strongly positively correlated to O-SCORE (R = 0.84, p = 0.0006) and GRS (R = 0.88, p = 0.0002). Conclusion: Our pilot study suggests live-operative robotic training is not sufficient alone for advanced robotic skill training. Simulations such as this can be used to (1) practice advanced robotic technical and relevant non-technical skills such as communication and operating room leadership in a low stake setting and (2) assess residents in a standardized environment to eventually evaluate robotic competency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years surgical robotic systems which were specifically developed for microsurgery have expanded the application of robotic-assisted surgery to plastic reconstructive surgery. Currently, there are two microsurgical robotic systems available for reconstructive plastic surgery. Both systems feature tremor reduction and motion scaling technologies, which are intended to optimize the surgeon's precision and dexterity. In the Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery at the University Hospital Zurich, the Symani Surgical System® has already been used for many microsurgical and supermicrosurgical operations, including autologous breast reconstruction, nerve transfer and, in particular, reconstructive lymphatic surgery. Despite special technical challenges, such as a lack of haptic feedback, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for an appropriately trained and skilled microsurgeon, including smaller surgical access incisions for anatomically deep structures and an improvement in surgical precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer-assisted procedures are becoming increasingly more relevant in orthopedics and trauma surgery. The data situation on these systems has improved in recent years but still has a low level of evidence. In particular, data on short-term or medium-term results on the use of these procedures are currently available. These could show that improved precision and reproducibility of the surgical procedures can be achieved by the use of computer-assisted procedures. Nevertheless, there is still no recommendation in the current guidelines for routine use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate a single surgeon's 20-year experience with robotic radical prostatectomy. Methods: Patients who had undergone robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy by a single surgeon were identified via an IRB approved prospectively maintained prostate cancer database. Patients were divided into 5-year cohorts (cohort A 2001–2005; cohort B 2006–2010; cohort C 2011–2015; cohort D 2016–2021) for analysis. Oncologic and quality of life outcomes were recorded at the time of follow-up visits. Continence was defined as 0–1 pad with occasional dribbling. Potency was defined as intercourse or an erection sufficient for intercourse within the last 4 weeks. Results: Three thousand one hundred fifty-two patients met criteria for inclusion. Clavien ≥ 3 complication rates decreased from 5.9% to 3.2%, p = 0.021. There was considerable Gleason grade group (GG) and stage migration to more advanced disease between cohort A (6.4% GG4 or GG5, 16.2% pT3 or pT4, 1.2% N1) and cohort D (17% GG4 or GG5, 45.5% pT3 or pT4, 14.4% N1; p < 0.001). Consistent with this, an increasing proportion of patients required salvage treatments over time (14.6% of cohort A vs 22.5% of cohort D, p < 0.001). 1-year continence rates improved from 74.8% to greater than 92.4%, p < 0.001. While baseline potency and use of intraoperative nerve spare decreased, for patients potent at baseline, there were no significant differences for potency at one year (p = 0.065). Conclusions: In this 20-year review of our experience with robotic prostatectomy, complication rates and continence outcomes improved over time, and there was a migration to more advanced disease at the time of surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) is recommended for residual masses following chemotherapy for non-seminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT). Recently, aberrant recurrence patterns were reported in patients who underwent robotic RPLND. We aimed to evaluate perioperative safety in addition to functional and early oncological outcomes of postchemotherapy robotic RPLND (pcR-RPLND) for NSGCT. Methods: A total of 25 patients with NSGCT who underwent a pcR-RPLND between January 2011 and June 2022 were evaluated retrospectively. Descriptive statistics were provided for demographics, clinical characteristics, intraoperative and postoperative parameters. Functional and oncological outcomes were recorded. Results: The median patient age was 28.9 years (IQR 21.5–32.4). The median retroperitoneal tumor size was 2.6 cm (IQR 1.5–3.5). Intraoperative complications occurred in only one case and the open conversion rate was 12%. There were seven cases with postoperative complications (Clavien grade II: 5 and IIIa: 2). Patients were followed for a median of 33.2 months (IQR 14.8–43.0). Antegrade ejaculation was preserved in 85.7% of the patients. Two patients (8%) relapsed and both had out-of-field recurrences at unusual sites (perinephric fat and omentum). Of those, one patient died (4%) of testicular cancer. Conclusion: pcR-RPLND is a feasible and technically reproducible procedure with favorable perioperative morbidity, low rate of complications, and acceptable postoperative ejaculatory function. Although the recurrence rate was low (8%), recurrences were observed at unusual sites. Further studies are required to investigate any association between the robotic approach and aberrant recurrence patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butterfly Optimization Algorithm (BOA) is a recent metaheuristic that has been used in several optimization problems. In this paper, we propose a new version of the algorithm (xBOA) based on the crossover operator and compare its results to the original BOA and 3 other variants recently introduced in the literature. We also proposed a framework for solving the unknown area exploration problem with energy constraints using metaheuristics in both single- and multi-robot scenarios. This framework allowed us to benchmark the performances of different metaheuristics for the robotics exploration problem. We conducted several experiments to validate this framework and used it to compare the effectiveness of xBOA with well-known metaheuristics used in the literature through 5 evaluation criteria. Although BOA and xBOA are not optimal in all these criteria, we found that BOA can be a good alternative to many metaheuristics in terms of the exploration time, while xBOA is more robust to local optima; has better fitness convergence; and achieves better exploration rates than the original BOA and its other variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a surgical technique called robotic ventral mesh rectopexy with anterior rectoplasty, which is used to treat obstructed defecation syndrome (ODS) caused by rectal prolapse, rectal intussusception, and rectocele. The authors propose a modification to the procedure that involves a longitudinal plication of the anterior wall of the rectum before fixing the mesh. They believe that this additional step can help correct the laxity of the anterior rectal wall and improve functional outcomes for patients. The article includes a video demonstration of the procedure and concludes that the modified technique may increase patient satisfaction. [Extracted from the article]

Robotic grinding has been gradually applied in the field of blade grinding due to its high precision and high flexibility. One important task in robotic grinding is to determine the position of the workpiece coordinate system. In addition, the mounting errors that exist during robotic grinding operations can lead to machining deviations. To solve above problems, this paper presents a vision-based robot workpiece posture error calibration method to fulfill the precision grinding requirements of aero-engine blades. Firstly, the 3D laser scanner is used to obtain point cloud information of aero-engine blades, where the blades are fixed to the end flange of the robot. Due to environmental interference and the limitation of the scanning angle, the initial point cloud is large and redundant; thus, this study applies statistical filtering, voxel filtering, and cluster segmentation for pre-processing. Therefore, to solve the problem of low efficiency of traditional ICP for aligning residual point clouds, this paper proposes to use the trimmed ICP algorithm to improve the alignment speed and accuracy between the obtained point cloud and the discrete CAD model point cloud to calibrate the pose errors of aero-engine blades. The experiments verified that the calibration method proposed in this paper has high precision and good surface machining consistency. The overall surface roughness of the blade is reduced from over Ra8μm to about Ra0.4 μm, which meets the technological requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automobile flexible sheet metal parts are prone to produce non-negligible grasping deformation, and choosing an appropriate layout of grasping points is an important means to reduce the grasping deformation for sheet metal parts. It is challenging to optimize the layout of grasping points efficiently and accurately because of the large number of robot fingers due to a large size sheet part. In order to improve the optimization efficiency and reduce the computational cost, this paper proposes a two-stage optimization design method for the layout of grasping points based on GSA-Kriging surrogate model. First, the number of robot fingers and their feasible range are determined according to the stability of robotic grasping operation and the degree of deformation at different positions. Then, according to the position distribution of grasping points, they are divided into two stages for optimization. Finally, GSA-Kriging surrogate model and gravitational search algorithm (GSA) are used to find the optimal layout of grasping points. In this paper, the layout of grasping point optimization of a certain car door sheet part is utilized as a case to validate the proposed method and we have designed an experimental system to test the proposed grasp method on a curved sheet part. The result shows that the GSA-Kriging surrogate model is more accurate and more stable than Kriging and other surrogate models. At the same time, the two-stage optimization method improves the optimization efficiency while reducing the calculation cost and burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A patina is essentially the weathered look a piece of leather takes on as it ages. The patina finishing aspect can be also generated or grown artificially by scrubbing the leather surface with specific products. These kinds of manual finishing operations on small objects are delicate and regularly need slight corrections carried out by skilled artisans, which adds complexity to the process automation and implies various key aspects to consider. This research presents a novel approach for automatic and semiautomatic shoe patina growing in the footwear industry using a new co-creative method based on cooperative robotics. The system automates the process in pursuit of operator time-saving without reducing the work finishing quality. For this purpose, the use of a collaborative robot with a built-in constant contact force control and a collaborative tool are used in this research. The use of both tools in complementarity with the knowledge of the craftsman leads the robot end-effector adaptation to the inherent curved surfaces over the shoe. Besides, some orientation corrections are applied based on the CAD model for the task to be accurately accomplished. The solution has been successfully integrated in a real production line, and it is currently in use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the dynamic mosaic planning method developed in the context of the PICKPLACE European project. The dynamic planner has allowed the development of a robotic system capable of packing a wide variety of objects without having to adjust to each reference. The mosaic planning system consists of three modules: First, the picked item monitoring module monitors the grabbed item to find out how the robot has picked it. At the same time, the destination container is monitored online to obtain the actual status of the packaging. To this end, we present a novel heuristic algorithm that, based on the point cloud of the scene, estimates the empty volume inside the container as empty maximal spaces (EMS). Finally, we present the development of the dynamic IK-PAL mosaic planner that allows us to dynamically estimate the optimal packing pose considering both the status of the picked part and the estimated EMSs. The developed method has been successfully integrated in a real robotic picking and packing system and validated with 7 tests of increasing complexity. In these tests, we demonstrate the flexibility of the presented system in handling a wide range of objects in a real dynamic packaging environment. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a complete online picking and packing system is deployed in a real robotic scenario allowing to create mosaics with arbitrary objects and to consider the dynamics of a real robotic packing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This retrospective study aims to analyse the survivorship and functional outcomes of two samples with similar preoperative clinical and demographic data of lateral unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) performed with robotic and conventional surgery at a minimum 5-year follow-up. Methods: In this retrospective study, the clinical records of two cohorts for 95 lateral UKA implants were analysed. The first cohort consisted of 43 patients with cemented lateral UKA performed with the conventional procedure (Conventional group). The second cohort consisted of 52 patients who received robot-assisted cemented lateral UKA (Robotic group). Clinical evaluation of the two samples entailed evaluating the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score divided into subscales (symptoms and stiffness, pain, function in daily living, function in sport and recreation and quality of life) for each patient. Revision was defined as the failure of the implant (periprosthetic joint infection, periprosthetic fracture or aseptic loosening), and survival was based on implant revision. Results: The mean follow-up time was 90.3 ± 9.1 months for the Conventional Group and 95.4 ± 11.0 months for the Robotic Group (n.s.). Each patient was clinically evaluated on the day before surgery (T0), at a minimum 1-year follow-up (T1) and at a minimum 5-year follow-up (T2). In both groups, all clinical scores improved between T0 and T1 and between T0 and T2 (p < 0.05); for both groups, no differences were noted in any clinical scores between T1 and T2 (n.s.). No significant differences in any clinical score were found between the two groups at each follow-up (n.s.). Survival analysis reported no differences between the two groups at the final 1-year follow-up, with three failures (2 aseptic loosening and 1 periprosthetic fracture) in the Conventional group and two failures (1 patellofemoral osteoarthritis and 1 inexplicable pain) in the Robotic group (n.s.). Conclusions: This study shows excellent clinical outcomes and revision rates in robotic arm-assisted and manual techniques for lateral UKA, with no clinical differences at medium- to long-term follow-up. Level of evidence: Level III—comparative study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the learning curve associated with robotic assisted knee arthroplasty (RAS KA). Therefore, the evaluation of the influence of an experienced surgeon on the overall team performance of three surgeons regarding the learning curve in RAS KA was investigated. It was hypothesized that the presence of an experienced surgeon flattens the learning curve and that there was no inflection point for the learning curve of the surgical team. Methods: Fifty-five cases consisting of 31 total knee arthroplasties (TKA) and 24 unicompartmental arthroplasties (UKA) performed by three surgeons during 2021 were prospectively investigated. Single surgeon and team performance for operation time learning curve and inflection points were investigated using cumulative sum analysis (CUSUM). Results: A downward trend line for individual surgeons and the team performance regarding the operation time learning curve was observed. No inflexion point was observed for the overall team performance regarding TKA and UKA. The surgeon that performed all cases with the assistance of the experienced surgeon had significantly shorter surgical times than the surgeon that only occasionally received assistance from the experienced surgeon (p = 0.004 TKA; p = 0.002 UKA). Conclusion: The presence of an experienced surgeon in robotically assisted knee arthroplasty can flatten the learning curve of the surgical team formerly unexperienced in robotic assisted systems. Manufacturers should provide expanded support during initial cases in centres without previous experience to robotic assisted knee arthroplasty. Level of evidence: III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review is to describe the complications and downsides of robotic systems in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: A comprehensive search according to the PRISMA guidelines was performed across PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, and Google Scholar from inception until December 2021. All articles of any study design directly reporting on complications and downsides of the robotic system in TKA were considered for inclusion. Risk of bias assessment was performed for all included studies using the Cochrane risk of bias and MINORS score. Results: A total of 21 studies were included, consisting of 4 randomized controlled trials, 7 prospective studies and 10 retrospective studies. Complications of the robotic system were pin-hole fracture, pin-related infection, iatrogenic soft tissue and bony injury, and excessive blood loss. While, downsides were longer operative duration, higher intraoperative cost, learning curve and aborting a robotic TKA due to different reasons. Iatrogenic injuries were more common in the active robotic system and abortion of the robotic TKA was reported only with active robotic TKA. Conclusion: Robotic TKA is associated with certain advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, surgeons need to be familiar with the system to use it effectively. Widespread adoption of the robotic system should always be evidence-based. Level of evidence: IV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Poor ergonomics and acute stress can impair surgical performance and cause work-related injuries. Robotic assistance may optimize these psychophysiological factors during UKA. This study compared surgeon physiologic stress and ergonomics during robotic-assisted UKA (rUKA) and conventional UKA (cUKA). Methods: Cardiorespiratory and postural data from a single surgeon were recorded during 30 UKAs, (15 rUKAs, 15 cUKAs). Heart rate (HR), HR variability, respiratory rate (RR), minute ventilation and calorie expenditure were used to measure surgical strain. Intraoperative ergonomics were assessed by measuring flexion/extension/rotation of the neck and lumbar spine, and shoulder abduction/adduction. Results: Mean operative time was 32.0 ± 7 min for cUKA and 45.9 ± 9 min for rUKA (p < 0.001). Mean neck flexion was − 23.4° ± 13° for rUKA and − 49.1° ± 18 for cUKA (p < 0.001), while mean lumbar flexion was − 20.3° ± 30° for rUKA and − 0.4° ± 68° for cUKA (p = 0.313). Mean lumbar flexion was similar; however, a significantly greater percentage of time was spent in lumbar flexion > 20° during cUKA. Bilateral shoulder abduction was significantly higher for rUKA. Mean calorie expenditure was 154 cal for rUKA and 89.1 cal for cUKA (p < 0.001). Mean HR was also higher for rUKA (88.7 vs. 84.7, p = 0.019). HR variability was slightly lower for rUKA (12.4) than for cUKA (13.4), although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.056). No difference in RR or minute ventilation was observed. Conclusion: rUKA resulted in less neck flexion but increased shoulder abduction, heart rate, and energy expenditure. The theoretical ergonomic and physiologic advantages of robotic assistance using a handheld sculpting device were not realized in this study. Level of evidence: II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To compare the clinical outcomes of subjects undergoing primary robotic-assisted total knee arthroplasty (RA-TKA), following functional alignment (FA) principles, with cruciate-retaining (CR) or posterior-stabilized (PS) bearing designs, at a minimum of 24 months of follow-up. Methods: This observational, retrospective study included 167 consecutive patients undergoing RA-TKA with cemented PS and cementless CR implants performed with a CT-base robotic-arm assisted system (Mako, Stryker), following FA principles, between 2017 and 2020. Patients were followed up with a clinical and radiographic assessment and were administered the Forgotten Joint Score-12 (FJS-12), Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score for Joint Replacement (KOOS-JR), and the 5-level Likert scale (5-LLS). Results: Three TKA revisions were performed (2 PS, 1 CR); therefore, a total of 164 knees with a mean age of 71.7 years (SD 8.9) were considered (80 cemented PS; 84 cementless CR). No statistically significant differences were recorded between study groups relative to FJS-12, KOOS-JR, and 5-LLS at a minimum of two year follow-up (FJS-12 89.3 ± 9.2 vs 87.5 ± 12.8, p-value 0.46; KOOS-JR 88.8 ± 10.0 vs 86.7 ± 14.0, p-value 0.31; 5-LLS 4.5 ± 0.7 vs 4.5 ± 0.8, p-value 0.34). Conclusion: No significant outcome differences were reported between patients undergoing PS and CR RA-TKA at a minimum of two year follow-up. RA-TKA achieves excellent clinical results and high satisfaction scores, regardless of the implant design used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Higher patient's expectations and dissatisfaction following total knee arthroplasty are well-documented phenomena. Despite the implications of different patients' related factors both modifiable and nonmodifiable, in the last decade a lot of emphasis has been focused on surgical technique, implant alignment and stability both as a cause and a potential solution of several problems. Methods: Different alignment and balancing techniques have been recently described and the introduction of new technologies such as computer and robotic-assisted surgery have been the basis for their optimization. In this paper, the surgical technique of the ROSA Knee System will be described focusing on the potential alignment options and the ligament balancing technique. The current literature available about the system will also be analyzed. Results: The ROSA® robotic system have been recently introduced in the market and presents specific and peculiar features to optimize ligament balancing and an individualized alignment of the implant in a three dimensional prospective. Discussion: The system is showing a favourable gap balancing technique and the possibility to create an individualized alignment. Preliminary results have now been shown in the literature both on the accuracy of the system and on clinical outcomes. Conclusions: Preliminary results are promising both in terms of accuracy of the system and of clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared imaging has recently played an important role in a wide range of applications including video surveillance, robotics and night vision. However, the manufacturing cost of high-resolution infrared cameras is more expensive regarding similar quality in visible cameras. This could explain the fact that thermal databases are less available compared to visible ones. In this paper, we mainly emphasis the need for aligning features from visible and thermal domains for object detection in order to ensure effective results in both domains without the need to retrain data and to perform additional annotations. To address that, we incorporate feature distribution alignments into faster R-CNN architecture at different levels. The resulting proposed adaptive detector has the advantage of covering different aspects of the domain shift in order to improve the overall performance. Using KAIST and FLIR ADAS datasets, the effectiveness of the proposed detector is assessed and better results are obtained compared to the baseline detector and to the obtained results by other existing works. Our code is available at https://github.com/AmineMarnissi/UDAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endovascular robotic systems have been applied in robot-assisted interventional surgery to improve surgical safety and reduce radiation to surgeons. However, this surgery requires surgeons to be highly skilled at operating vascular interventional surgical robot. Virtual reality (VR) interventional training systems for robot-assisted interventional surgical training have many advantages over traditional training methods. For virtual interventional radiology, simulation of the behaviors of surgical tools (here mainly refers to catheter and guidewire) is a challenging work. In this paper, we developed a novel virtual reality interventional training system. This system is an extension of the endovascular robotic system. Because the master side of this system can be used for both the endovascular robotic system and the VR interventional training system, the proposed system improves training and reduces the cost of education. Moreover, we proposed a novel method to solve catheterization modeling during the interventional simulation. Our method discretizes the catheter by the collision points. The catheter between two adjacent collision points is treated as thin torsion-free elastic rods. The deformation of the rod is mainly affected by the force applied at the collision points. Meanwhile, the virtual contact force is determined by the collision points. This simplification makes the model more stable and reduces the computational complexity, and the behavior of the surgical tools can be approximated. Therefore, we realized the catheter interaction simulation and virtual force feedback for the proposed VR interventional training system. The performance of our method is experimentally validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The utilization of the robot for inguinal hernia repairs has increased in the past years. The new Da Vinci Single Port (SP) system provides the benefits of single-incision procedures and might overcome the technical difficulties of previous single-incision techniques. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the SP transabdominal preperitoneal inguinal hernia repair (SP-TAPP) and compare its outcomes to the robotic multiport technique (MP-TAPP). Methods: A prospective cohort of patients who underwent a robotic SP-TAPP and MP-TAPP between 2012 and 2022 was analyzed. Primary endpoints were same-day discharge, morbidity, and inguinal recurrence rates. Secondary endpoints included conversion, operative time, port-site incisional hernia, and chronic pain. Results: MP-TAPP and SP-TAPP were performed in 378 (81.3%) and 87 (18.7%) patients, respectively. Demographics were similar between groups. There were no conversions or intraoperative complications. Mean operative (MP-TAPP: 93.2 vs. SP-TAPP: 78.1 min, p = 0.003) and recovery time (MP-TAPP: 160.8 vs SP-TAPP: 112.6 min, p < 0.001) were significantly shorter in the SP group. Same-day discharge rate was higher (MP-TAPP: 86.5% vs. SP-TAPP: 97.7%, p = 0.001) after SP-TAPP; 30-day morbidity, readmissions, and chronic pain rates were similar between groups. After a mean follow-up of 30.6 months for MP-TAPP and 13.3 months for SP-TAPP, inguinal hernia recurrence and port-site incisional rates were similar between groups. Conclusion: Robotic SP-TAPP is safe and feasible. When compared to MP-TAPP, it showed similar postoperative morbidity, higher same-day discharge rates, and a quicker postoperative recovery. Further studies are needed to confirm the benefits of the SP platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gastroparesis is characterized by delayed gastric emptying without a significant obstructive pathology and is estimated to effect more than 5 million adults in the United States. Therapies for this condition are divided into two categories: gastric electrical stimulation or pyloric therapies to facilitate gastric emptying. Pyloric procedures include pyloroplasty, a well-documented procedure, and per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POP), a relatively novel endoscopic procedure that disrupts the pyloric muscles endoscopically. There is a paucity of literature comparing the two procedures. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes of these two techniques. Methods: Under an IRB protocol, data were collected prospectively from September 2018 through April 2021 at our institution for patients undergoing POP (n = 63 patients) or robotic pyloroplasty (RP) (n = 48). Preoperative and postoperative data including sex, race, age, BMI, and Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index (GCSI) score were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in sex, age, and BMI for both cohorts, but patients with RP were more likely to have private insurance, pre-op reflux, and PPI (p <.05 for all). Patients who underwent POP had significantly shorter operative time compared to RP (median 27 min vs 90, p < 0.001). The average change between preoperative and postoperative GCSI scores was significantly decreased for both interventions (POP mean = 8.2, RP 16.8, p < 0.001 both). However, comparing both data, RP has significantly better improvement in postoperative GCSI score than POP in both univariate (p < 0.001) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.030). This was reflected in the individual symptoms with nausea (p < 0.001), ability to finish meal (p = 0.037), abdomen visibly larger (p = 0.037) and bloating (p = 0.022) all showing improvement in both groups, but with RP having a more significant decrease in the scoring of these symptoms than POP. There was no significant difference in the number of postoperative complications (POP 19% vs RP 13%, p = 0.440). Conclusion: Even though both interventions are significantly associated with improvement of symptoms in patients with gastroparesis, our data demonstrates that robotic pyloroplasty has a superior response in comparison to per-oral endoscopic myotomy for the management of these symptoms. Per-oral pyloromyotomy has a similar complication rate to robotic pyloroplasty with a shorter operative time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various robotic devices for extracting blood from the brain in individuals who have had a hemorrhagic stroke have been proposed. In order to take a step ahead, this research designs and fabricates a neurosurgery robot (6-DOF) with a unique remote center motion to save space. The robot is compatible with Computed tomography (CT) and can be mounted on a scanner bed with a special mounting device. A calibration procedure employing an Optical tracking system (OTS) establishes the kinematic connections of the relevant parts. A sliding mode observer controller was designed and implemented to add accuracy and precision to the robot. The controller perfectly trailed the desired output with very high accuracy. The robot can place a needle tip and orient its axis with a precision of 1.64 ± 0.90 mm and 0.99 ± 0.11°, insert and rotate it along its axis with a precision of 0.90 ± 0.11 mm and 0.97 ± 0.31°. An ex vivo experiment using a layer-by-layer motion planning technique was conducted with a phantom under CT to evacuate the hematoma with 87% aspiration achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author Correction: Quantifying changes over 1 year in motor and cognitive skill after transient ischemic attack (TIA) using robotics Graph: Figure 4 Line plots of task scores over time in the TIA cohort at all 4 assessments with significant changes corrected for the false discovery rate (FDR). Graph: Figure 2 Scatterplots of one-sided Task Scores at first- and second assessments in TIA (a-c) and migraine (d-f) cohorts. [Extracted from the article]

This article describes outcomes from the Erasmus + project botSTEM, involving a theoretical framework for Science, Technology, Engineering & Technology (STEM) and robotics and teaching activities for preschool teachers and teachers educating children 4–8 years old. Spanish and Swedish preschool teachers' self-efficacy and views of teaching STEM and robotics are presented, using a mixed methodology based on a questionnaire and focus group interviews. The 3-year long project has improved the preschool teachers' self-efficacy in STEM and robotics teaching, as described in a questionnaire answered by the preschool teachers after the project. Possibilities in STEM and robotics teaching experienced by them include an increase in children's agency, knowledge and interest, and the obstacles are mainly structural or technical. Robotics teaching also supports children with special needs when interacting with peers. The results from the botSTEM project point to the benefit of supported long-term professional development for STEM and robotics teaching in preschools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: To our knowledge, no papers have reported the results of robotic-assisted surgery for sequential bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). Indeed, sequential bilateral TKA present several benefits, as one single anesthesia, surgical episode, hospitalization, and rehabilitation. The purpose of our study was to evaluate peri-operative outcomes and compare the complication rates, clinical outcomes, and implant positioning of sequential bilateral TKA performed with a robotic-assisted system versus a conventional technique. Materials and methods: All patients who underwent a sequential bilateral robotic-assisted primary TKA (raTKA) in our institution between November 2019 and February 2021 were included. Twenty patients met the inclusion criteria and were matched with 20 sequential bilateral TKA performed with a conventional technique. The two groups were comparable for the demographic data and the preoperative parameters, including preoperative anticoagulation and ASA score. The minimum follow-up was 6 months. Results: The operative time was significantly longer in the robotic group (< 0.0001), with a mean additional time of 29 min. There was no significant difference between both groups for postoperative blood loss, rate of blood transfusion, or postoperative pain. The average length of stay was 5 days. There was one early complication in the robotic group due to the tibial trackers. The functional outcomes were similar between both groups, except for the functional KSS score, which was better at 6 months in the robotic group (p < 0.0001). The restoration of the knee alignment and the distal femoral anatomy were significantly better in the robotic group than in the conventional group. Conclusions: Despite a longer operative time, the peri-operative parameters of sequential bilateral TKA were similar between robotic and conventional techniques. Further, sequential bilateral raTKA was at least as safe as a conventional technique, without additional risk of medical complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disassembly is the first step in the remanufacturing of a product. This paper presents the design of a robot end-of-arm tool for removing a peg from a hole, a common operation in the disassembly of mechanical products. The device is a compliant structure that enables the peg to be pulled out of a closely fitting hole without jamming or wedging. The device is reminiscent of the Remote Centre Compliance (RCC) mechanism used by assembly robots to insert cylindrical pegs into cylindrical holes with small clearances. However, whereas the RCC mechanism has primarily to withstand compressive forces, the proposed compliant device must resist tensile forces because of the nature of disassembly operations. The paper details a finite-element modelling study of peg removal with and without using the compliant structure. The results obtained show that the structure markedly reduces the stresses at the points of contact between the peg and the hole and, consequently, the risk of damage to the components being disassembled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automate finishing processes is a global challenge in several industrial sectors. Concretely, when dealing with aero-engine components, only simple finishing processes are automated nowadays. Most of the high-added value components manufactured are finished hand working, using deburring and polishing manual techniques. The driver of the proposed work is to achieve the necessary knowledge to introduce in a production line a complete finishing process for automated robotic deburring applications with low machinability materials (Inconel 718 in this case-study) on aero-engine casings with complex geometries: extruded casting bosses, internal features, etc. For this purpose, a three-step methodology is presented and analysed, providing a feasible workflow combining visual inspection for part positioning and edge location, with multi-edge solid tools and flexible abrasive tools to automate finishing operations, taking into account all process singularities. Results show that, using correct techniques, processes and parameters, an automated finishing process reducing operating time can be implemented in production lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remanufacturing automation must be designed to be flexible and robust enough to overcome the uncertainties, conditions of the products, and complexities in the planning and operation of the processes. Machine learning methods, in particular reinforcement learning, are presented as techniques to learn, improve, and generalise the automation of many robotic manipulation tasks (most of them related to grasping, picking, or assembly). However, not much has been exploited in remanufacturing, in particular in disassembly tasks. This work presents the state of the art of contact-rich disassembly using reinforcement learning algorithms and a study about the generalisation of object extraction skills when applied to contact-rich disassembly tasks. The generalisation capabilities of two state-of-the-art reinforcement learning agents (trained in simulation) are tested and evaluated in simulation, and real world while perform a disassembly task. Results show that at least one of the agents can generalise the contact-rich extraction skill. Besides, this work identifies key concepts and gaps for the reinforcement learning algorithms' research and application on disassembly tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers latest highlights in simultaneous and follow-up optical observations of high energy astrophysical phenomena by MASTER Global Robotic Net. Such extreme Universe sources includes gamma-ray bursts, gravitational wave events, detected by LIGO/Virgo, fast radio bursts, high energy neutrino sources and others. Some of the neutrinos detected by ground-based facilities owe their births to supermassive black holes – blazars, which are in a special anxious state with high statistical reliability. We discovered the effect of a rapid decrease in the brightness of the blazar PKS 0735+17 at the time of the multiple detection of the high-energy neutrino event IceCube-211208A. This decrease in brightness within several hours was detected with a high confidence (SNR 10) in comparison with a multi-day brightening state of the blazar, which was accompanied not only by a maximum increase in the average brightness, but also by an increase in the amplitude of its brightness fluctuations. Additionally, we analyzed all cases of successful observation of blazars around neutrino events and obtained statistically reliable indications of the relationship between neutrino events and optical activity of blazars in the doubled error box at the 4.2 level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of industrial robots for machining large parts has attracted more and more attention. Previous studies have shown that ball-end milling is greatly affected by the process parameters. Besides, robotic machining is also affected by various posture-dependent robot performances. However, these two critical aspects are usually treated separately in many works studying robotic machining. In this paper, a robotic machining system consisting of a six-axis industrial robot, a two-axis positioner and a linear track was developed. The combined effects of milling process parameters and robot postures on the machining results were experimentally investigated. Grey relational analysis–based multi-objective optimization was conducted for lower cutting force and better surface quality. A group of process parameters and robot postures were obtained as the optimal combination that generally yields the best milling performance. The results allow users to preliminarily determine the main factors affecting the quality of robotic machining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]