Surgeons and engineers attend the ninth Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics.

On Sunday 26^th and Monday 27^th June, during the first ever UK Robotics Week, over 250 surgeons and engineers from across the globe assembled at the Royal Geographical Society for the ninth Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics.  

This interactive annual event offers delegates the opportunity to listen to talks, attend various workshops and to take part in demos and simulations of the various medical robots being developed today.  It was hosted by Imperial’s Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, one of the Institute of Global Health Innovation’s (IGHI) seven centres of excellence.

The theme for this year’s symposium was ‘New Challenges and Emerging Platforms’ and included a speaker line-up of leading scientists and engineers in collaborative robotics, navigation and image guidance.

The keynote lecture was delivered by Peer Fischer of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany, who discussed untethered micro- and nano-robots for potential biomedical applications.  Other speakers included Professor Paolo Fiorini from the University of Verona, who gave an engineering perspective on autonomy in surgical robotics whilst Dr Nabil Simaan of Vanderbilt University outlined intelligent continuum robots for surgery.  Professor Darwin Caldwell from the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa, Italy also discussed augmented, assistive and robotic technologies in micro surgery.

The Karl Storz - Harold Hopkins Lecture ‘Surgeons from Venus, Engineers from Mars – How to bridge the gap’ was given by Professor Amir Szold, Director of Assia Medical. 

The event also hosted an interactive panel discussion about what has transformed robotics, which was chaired by Hamlyn Centre Director Professor Guang-Zhong Yang. 

Guests also had the opportunity to attend workshop programmes on the days pre- and pro-ceding the Symposium. Topics covered included smart surgical devices, rehabilitation and assistive technologies, micro-robotics and robotic sewing and suturing, among others. 

Surgical Robot Challenge

The Symposium also hosted the annual Surgical Robot Challenge, which launched last year and which offers applicants the chance to pitch their new surgical robot idea to a panel of experts.  Congratulations are in order for Drs Campisano, Gramuglia, Dawson, Izmaylov, Morgan, Obstein and Valdastri who were the overall winners of the challenge with their idea for ultra-low-cost endoscopy for gastric cancer screening in low-income countries.

Professor Guang-Zhong Yang said “the Hamlyn Symposium provided an excellent platform to showcase the cutting-edge developments in robotic surgery that can help boost its usage and in turn, reshape the future of healthcare worldwide. The main advantage of robotic surgery is that it allows surgeons to operate through infinitely smaller incisions, resulting in significantly less pain, scarring and recovery time for patients.  There is also less risk of infection, less blood loss and fewer transfusions which helps the patient get back on their feet to return to their daily activities.  The Hamlyn Centre is delighted to be at the forefront of new technological innovations in healthcare and we very much look forward to the Symposium next year when we celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Hamlyn Symposium and hear more about current advances in the robotics field”. 

Photos

• Day 1 
• Day 2 
• Day 3 
• Day 4