User:Connor Monson/ZEUS robotic surgical system

The ZEUS Robotic Surgical System, originally made by Computer Motion, was cleared by the FDA in 1994 to assist surgeons in minimally invasive surgery. The ZEUS has three robotic arms that the surgeon remotely controls during the surgery. The first one, the AESOP (Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning), is a voice-activated endoscope which functions like a robotic eye, allowing the surgeon to see inside the patient’s body. The other two robotic arms act like extensions of the surgeon’s own arms, mimicking the surgeon’s movements and also allowing for more precise executions of the surgeon’s commands.

Computer Motion
In 2000, Computer Motion was the leading producer of medical robotics with such ones as the ZEUS Surgical System, AESOP Robotic Endoscope Positioner, HERMES Control Center, and the SOCRATES Telecollaboration System.”

Computer Motion vs. Intuitive Surgical
By 2000, Computer Motion had filed eight suits against Intuitive Surgical for allegedly infringing on Computer Motion's patents relating to robotic surgery.

In March 7, 2003, Computer Motion and Intuitive Surgical merged into a single company. This was partially done to try and end the litigation between the companies, but also to combine their efforts with the robotic surgical systems to increase the effectivness of this technology. Soon after merging, the ZEUS from Computer Motion was phased out in favor of the Da Vinci system from Intuitive Surgical.

AESOP
Computer Motion originally researched under a NASA SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) contract to develop AESOP (Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning). NASA funded this reasearch in the hopes that they could use technology similar to the AESOP to help service space shuttles where humans cannot easily access or cannot easily make delicate repairs/adjustments.

AESOP was cleared for use by the FDA in 1994, where it became the first robot to assist in a surgery. AESOP's function is to maneuver a tiny video camera (called an endoscope) inside the patient druing the surgery. The camera moves around based on voice commands given by the surgeon. The voice activation of the AESOP allows the surgeon to use this third arm of the robot while still holding onto the controls for the other two arms. It is beneficial for the endoscope to be controlled by a computer because it allows for more precise movements, and also the endoscope can be inserted into the patient through a smaller incision (a main component of minimally invasive surgery).

ZEUS features
The ZEUS was designed for minimally invasive procedures(microsurgery), such as beating heart surgery, and endoscopic coronary artery bypass grafting (E-CABGTM). The system was also used to initiate more complex procedures like a mitral valve surgery IDE study.

The ZEUS' robotic arms not only mimic the surgeon’s hand movements, but also scale down the movement which allows the surgeon to easily make precise and small cuts. This gives the surgeon more precision and allows the surgery to go smoothly. The arms also reduce the natural tremors in the surgeons hands (usually a result of fatigue) which again increases the surgeon's percision.

The tremors in a surgeon's hands are normal even without fatigue, though a highly traied surgeon will be able to lessen the negative effects. However, some surgeries can last for hours, in which case the surgeon's arms will get tired, and the resulting tremors from fatigue can make the surgeon create false cuts, which can be devastating during a delicate operation. To handle this, the ZEUS is designed to track and nullify these tremors while still responding to the movements/commands of the surgeon's hands.

During the surgery, the surgeon sits and the ZEUS console to control the arms. This can also lessen fatigue because the surgeon is sitting down during the long operation rather than leaning over the patient.

Another feature the ZUES has is it's remote-surgery application. Because the surgeon is simply controlling the robotic arms, the surgeon can sit at the console for the ZEUS in a different room than the surgery is actually taking place and still be able to perform the surgery. This technology is not yet advanced enough to make remote-surgery over large distances feasible because the information from the console cannot be transferred fast enough over a long distance to make the surgery safe for the patient. Once this technology has been improved, it can be incredibly beneficial to patients worldwide because a single highly skilled surgeon in one city can provide life-saving operations to patients in many different cities as long as there is a surgical robot at the hospital where the surgery is taking place.

Why Robotic Surgery?
Robot-assisted surgery is the latest development in minimally invasive surgery. The main idea being that surgery through a smaller incision will typically result in less stress/scarring for the patient as well as a faster recovery. Recent developments in technology make robot-assisted surgery practical and useful, however it is still very expensive so it is not widely used yet. It has many benefits over the more traditional "hands-on" surgery, like creating a smaller incision to conduct the surgery through, making more precise cuts during the surgery, and even completing the operation in a shorter amount of time. This significantly aids the patient's recovery after the surgery, which also saves money because the patient can be released from the hospital sooner.

ZEUS history
The first prototype of the ZEUS was demostrated in 1995 and tested on animals a year later in 1996. Two years later in 1998 it carried out its' first tubal re-anastomosis procedue, and first CABG (Coronary artery bypass surgery) procedure. By 2000, the ZEUS was equipped to hold 28 different surgical insturments, and one year later in 2001 it recieved FDA approval.

In 2003, the ZEUS Robot Surgical System was being marketed at $975,000 apiece. This was slightly cheaper than the Da Vinci system selling at an even $1 million apiece.

ZEUS use

 * December 1, 1998 - "Computer Motion Inc. and United States Surgical Corp. have agreed to develop and market robotic heart surgery devices using CM's Zeus robotic surgical system."
 * "1998 - Dr. Frank Diamiano performed the first procedure in the United States with a reanastomosis of a fallopian tube using the Zeus system."
 * "September 24, 1999 - Dr. Boyd of London Health Sciences Centre's (LHSC) university performed the world's first robotically-assisted closed-chest beating heart cardiac bypass operation on 60-year-old dairy farmer John Penner using the Zeus system."
 * "November 22, 1999 - The first closed-chest beating heart cardiac hybrid revascularization procedure is performed at the London Health Sciences Centre (London, Ontario). Dr. Douglas Boyd used Zeus to perform an endoscopic, single-vessel heart bypass surgery on a 55 year-old male patient's left anterior descending artery."
 * "December 9, 1999 - Dr. Ralph Damiano, Jr., at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey performed the first robotic assisted beating heart bypass in the United States using the Zeus Robotical Surgical System."
 * "October 9, 2001 - ZEUS® Robotic Surgical System from Computer Motion receives FDA regulatory clearance with the FDA decision for U.S. surgeons to use a variety of instruments to perform a wide range of robotically assisted laparoscopic and thoracic procedures."