Image Guidance in Robotic-Assisted Renal Surgery

Abstract

New methods of imaging and image guidance technology have the potential to provide surgeons with spatially accurate three-dimensional information about the location and anatomical relationships of critical intraoperative subsurface and nonvisualized structures and surgeon instrumentation location and positioning. This guidance is spatially accurate and updated and displayed in real time during the performance of surgery. Robotic platforms and technology in various forms possess critical advantages that allow for robust image guidance in a variety of forms. Development of new robotic platforms continues to promise revolutionary changes in surgery and procedural interventions and will soon incorporate and potentially become more dependent on image guidance. Various iterations of image-guided surgery (IGS) for abdominal and urologic interventions exist and present complex engineering and surgical challenges along with potential benefits to surgeons and patients. Key concepts such as registration, localization, accuracy, and targeting error are necessary for surgeons to understand and utilize the potential benefits of IGS as well as understand the risks. Standard urologic robotic surgeries, such as partial nephrectomy and radical prostatectomy, may soon incorporate a variety of forms of IGS. Research continues to explore the potential for combining image guidance and robotics to augment and improve surgical interventions.