Impact of Robot-Assisted Surgery and 3D Vision Systems with Virtual Reality on Medical Training

Abstract

Robot-assisted surgery has changed the way in which surgery is practiced, as well as the way in which it is taught and learnt. These robotic devices designed for surgical interventions have been used to teach surgical approaches and practice with three-dimensional virtual anatomic models instead of patients. Medical training has also been transformed over the last years, with significant changes due to the use of different tools and technological devices that are increasingly similar to reality and allowstudents to acquire skills and competences through a 3D visualization of anatomical structures. In spite of the advantages of robot-assisted surgery, it requires a learning process, just as any other innovative procedure, since there are several limitations that need to be considered, such as ergonomic obstacles, the difficulty to visualize some anatomical structures and the lack of control of certain movements in the operating console. This study will present the possibilities for morphological visualization of these robotic systems, as well as the advantages of these surgical procedures in the results on the patient and in the visualization of anatomical structures. The study will analyze a surgical approach of the lung as an example of the possibilities of these devices. The Da Vinci robot will be used, and the anatomical structures of the area will be observed through a 3D reconstruction system based on computerized tomography sections that creates images with virtual reality techniques.