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ByLauranNeergaard TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Getting stitched up by Dr. Robot may one day be reality: Sci- entists have created a ro- botic system that did just that in living animals with- out a real doctor pulling the strings. Much like engineers are designing self-driving cars, Wednesday's research is part of a move toward au- tonomous surgical robots, removing the surgeon's hands from certain tasks that a machine might per- form all by itself. No, doctors wouldn't leave the bedside — they're supposed to supervise, plus they'd handle the rest of the surgery. Nor is the device ready for operating rooms. But in small tests using pigs, the robotic arm per- formed at least as well, and in some cases a bit better, as some competing surgeons in stitching together intestinal tissue, researchers reported inthejournalScienceTrans- lational Medicine. "The purpose wasn't to replace surgeons," said Dr. PeterC.W.KimofChildren's National Health System in Washington, a pediatric sur- geon who led the project. "If you have an intelligent tool that works with a surgeon, can it improve the outcome? That's what we have done." If you've heard about ma- chines like the popular Da Vinci system, you might think robots already are operating. Not really. Today many hospitals offer robot- assisted surgery where sur- geons use the machinery as tools that they manually control, typically to operate through tiny openings in the body. But robot-assisted sur- gery has been controversial, as some studies have shown it can bring higher costs without better outcomes. So why the push for next- generation autonomous ro- bots? Proponents think there are cases where a ma- chine's precision may out- perform a human hand. Wednesday's project is "the first baby step toward true autonomy," said Dr. Umamaheswar Duvvuri of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a head and neck surgeon and robotic specialist who wasn't in- volved with new work. But don't expect to see doctors ever leave entire op- erations in a robot's digits, he cautioned. Because it's designed to do one specific task — stitch up tissue — the machine is a lot like the automation trend in other industries. Robot arms do the weld- ing and painting in most U.S. car assembly lines, for example. They can find in- ventory in warehouses. From the driver's perspec- tive, many cars now are able towarndriverswhenthey're too close to the car in front, or take control and apply the brakes to prevent a crash. The new STAR system — it stands for Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot — works sort of like a programmable sewing machine. Kim's team at Children's Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Inno- vation took a standard ro- botic arm and equipped it with suturing equipment plus smart imaging tech- nologies to let it track mov- ing tissue in 3-D and with an equivalent of night vi- sion. They added sensors to help guide each stitch and tell how tightly to pull. The surgeon places fluo- rescent markers on the tis- sue that needs stitching, and the robot takes aim as doc- tors keep watch. Now the test: Could the STAR reconnect tubular pieces of intestinal tissue from pigs, sort of like two ends of a garden hose? Any soft-tissue surgeries are tricky for machinery be- cause those tissues move out of place so easily. And the stitches intheseconnections must be placed precisely to avoid leaks or blockages, a challenge even for experts. Using pieces of pig bowel outside of the animals' bod- ies as well as in five living but sedated pigs, the re- searchers tested the STAR robot against open surgery, minimally invasive surgery and robot-assisted surgery. By some measures — the consistency of stitches and their strength to avoid leaks — "we surpassed the sur- geons," said Children's en- gineer Ryan Decker. The STAR approach wasn't perfect. The STAR had to reposi- tion fewer stitches than the surgeons performing min- imally invasive or robot- assisted suturing. But in the living animals, the ro- bot took much longer and made a few suturing mis- takes while the surgeon sew- ing by hand made none. Kim, whose team has filed patents on the system, said the robot can be sped up. He hopes to begin hu- man studies in two or three years. TECHNOLOGY Robot stitches tissue by itself, a step to more automated OR AX EL K RIE GE R — S CI EN CE T RA NS LA TI ONAL M ED IC IN E Dr . A za d S ha dem an a nd R ya n D ec ke r a pp ea r d ur in g su pe rv is ed a ut on om ou s i n-v iv o b owe l a na st om os is pe rf or me d by t he Smar t T is su e A ut on om ou s R ob ot ( ST AR ). "The purpose wasn't to replace surgeons. If you have an intelligent tool that works with a surgeon, can it improve the outcome? That's what we have done." — Dr. Peter C. W. Kim of Children's National Health System InPrintEveryTuesday-Thursday-Saturday Online:Publishes24/7 www.redbluffdailynews.com Threeadditionalonline locations at no extra cost! Print and On-Line HOMESERVICESDIRECTORY Full Size $ 117 .50 Per Month No early cancellation, non-refundable TWOSIZESTOCHOOSEFROM Half Size $ 70 .00 Per Month Construction Burrows Constructi on Remodel, New Additions, Siding Repair and Replacement, Water and Dryrot New Construction Foundation to Finish Ph:(530) 515-9779 Residential•Commerical PATIOS•DECKS REFRENCES Lic#824770 Roofing Call for Estimates! 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