AESOP brand instrument positioner

AESOP brand ZEUS instrument positioner with yellow/gold band, serial number 20668, and ZEUS motor unit (820-0437) part of ZEUS surgical system, made by Computer Motion, United States, c.2000

Instruments attached to two robotic arms and an endoscopic camera are controlled by a surgeon, sitting at the console, away from the operating table. A video monitor projects a 3D image that can be viewed through glasses mounted with a polarizing filter, giving the surgeon a view inside the body to carry out surgical procedures. The ZEUS system was one of the first robotic assistive keyhole surgery device.

Founded in 1993 by Yulun Wang, Computer Motion had its origins in a NASA Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Jet Propulsion Lab. Wang developed a voice-controlled robotic arm equipped with an endoscope camera known as AESOP (Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning). Voice control was opted for over eye-tracking or head-tracking. A microphone allowed the surgeon to control 23 functions in the operating room using the HERMES voice control system. Voice recognition software is pre-recorded onto a voice card and inserted into the controller.

The introduction of the Microwrist system, approved in the United States in 2002, gave an additional degree of freedom during operations, allowing for enhanced dexterity, from four degrees to five degrees of motion.

The original impetus for robotic assisted surgery was for telesurgery – for astronauts in space but millions of procedures are carried out around the world, if there is access to the technology and trained surgical staff.