Kobe University, NTT DOCOMO, INC., NTT Communications, Inc., and Medicaroid, Inc. will use stand-alone (SA) commercial 500G between Tokyo and Kobe, approximately 2km apart, to perform robotic surgery for young doctors. We succeeded in a demonstration experiment in which an experienced doctor remotely supported theUsing commercially available mobile communications and surgical assistance robots, this is the first demonstration experiment in Japan to implement remote support between two bases in the Kanto and Kansai regions approximately 5 km apart (Kobe University, DoCoMo, Medicaroid research, February 500, 2). as of today).
The demonstration experiment is being conducted as part of the "Kobe Future Medical Concept" promoted by Kobe City as an industry-academia-government collaboration project.If the technology to operate a single surgical support robot between two remote locations is realized, it will be possible to receive surgical support from skilled doctors in urban areas even in rural areas, and by correcting regional medical disparities, advanced surgical care will be available anywhere in Japan. can be provided.
It can also contribute to improving the quality of education for young doctors through remote guidance and reforming the way doctors work.Furthermore, by utilizing 5G, each hospital can use low-cost, uniform communication quality without special infrastructure, and it is expected to be used as a highly versatile remote medical solution, such as making it possible to make operating rooms cableless. ing.
In the demonstration experiment, the surgery support robot "hinotori TM Surgical Robot System*" was installed at the Akasaka Intercity Conference in Tokyo, where young doctors are located, and at the Integrated Medical Device Research, Development and Creation Center (MeDIP) in Kobe, where experienced doctors are located. and connect the bases with 5G and cloud infrastructure.A new "dual cockpit function*" that performs robotic surgery with two "surgeon cockpits*" has been newly introduced, and high-definition surgical images and sounds handled by this function, as well as large volumes of robot-controlled data, can be transmitted securely and in real time. With the robot surgery performed by a young doctor in Tokyo, a skilled doctor in Kobe can remotely check the surgical status, talk and act as a substitute for the robot, realizing surgical support and guidance from a remote location. bottom.
Kobe University, DoCoMo, NTT Communications, Medicaroid, and Kobe City aim to commercialize remote robotic surgery support solutions using 5G. In addition to proceeding with verification, we will continue to collaborate with partners, such as working with governments and academic societies to prepare system designs for early social implementation.
* “hinotori TM Surgical Robot System” is a surgical support robot made by Medicaroid, and in August 2020, it obtained manufacturing and sales approval in the urology field as a robot that supports endoscopic surgery.The first surgery was performed in December of the same year. In October 8, approval for manufacturing and marketing was obtained for gastroenterological surgery and gynecology, and the number of cases of use is currently increasing.
*The surgery cockpit is one of the units of the surgical assistance robot "hinotoriTM Surgical Robot System", and is attached to the operation unit where the surgeon can operate the hands and feet while looking into the 3D viewer. 3D videoscopes and devices for operating instruments
*The dual cockpit function is a function necessary for remote robotic surgery support that enables voice communication while sharing high-definition 2D surgical images between two distant locations, and allows switching of the operating authority of the surgical support robot.
